Namikaze Hokage
by NamikazeNaruto
Summary: AU. What if Naruto discovered about his heritage before he entered the academy? How would he turn out? Read and find out as Naruto strives to accomplish of his goals of becoming Hokage and revive the Namikaze Clan.
1. Chapter 1

The Revival of the Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 1: Namikaze Naruto

Author's Note: Naruto nor the characters of the story belong to me unfortunately and belong rather to Kishimoto Masashi. All I am doing is writing another version of his story according to my creative vision.

12 years ago in the village of Konoha...

It was a dark night in Konoha as most had gone to sleep except for a couple who were in the hospital. That couple was Namikaze Minato, and Uzumaki Kushina, who was delivering a baby in the hospital.

"Push! Push!" One of the doctors told Uzumaki Kushina as they were trying to deliver the baby.

Meanwhile, Namikaze Minato was anxiously pacing through the hallways as he waiting for the results of the pregnancy. There was also Kakashi there, sitting in one of the chairs and watching his sensei pacing.

"Don't worry, Minato-sensei. I'm pretty sure everything will go well." Kakashi said in order to try and reassure his nervous sensei which was a sight to behold as his sensei was never nervous.

"I know Kakashi but I'm still nervous about all this. I mean, this is going to be our child." Minato replied. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see his sensei, "J...Jiraiya-sensei? I thought you left the village already." Minato asked surprised at seeing the sannin.

"I was but then I went by to check on you guys and didn't see you at your house. I then heard from Sarutobi that you were at the hospital and so I came here to see how's everything going." Jiraiya explained with a grin.

"Arigato Jiraiya-sensei. This means alot to me and also Naruto since you will be his god-father." Minato replied with a smile. Then, Kakashi started to laugh which got the attention of the student and teacher, "And what's so funny Kakashi?" Minato asked.

"You actually named him after some ramen sensei?" Kakashi asked while laughing.

"I told you it was a bad name." Jiraiya said to his student.

"What, I like ramen. Besides, I don't need your approval, hentai Kakashi, and ero-sennin." Minato said as he called the two by their nicknames.

"Damn it, why do you keep calling me that? I hope your son doesn't call me that." Jiraiya replied.

"H…hentai?" Kakashi repeated.

"Minato-sama! We are finished with the operation but…" The head doctor said as he came out of the surgery room.

"But what?" Minato asked and as he did, lightning struck outside. When the doctor did not respond, Minato grabbed him, "But what?" Minato said.

"I…it's your wife. S…she didn't make it through. I'm so sorry." The doctor said.

"This is a joke, right? YOU'RE JOKING, RIGHT?" Minato yelled.

"I wish I was but I am not. I'm terribly sorry, Hokage-sama." The doctor said.

"Here is the baby, sir." A female nurse said and brought a blond baby boy with blue eyes, crying.

Minato smiled at the baby and then took it from the nurse and began cradling it.

"Naruto…Namikaze Naruto That's your name…" Minato began to say before tears started to fall from his eyes.

"Minato-sensei." Kakashi said as he saw the sad look on his sensei's face.

Suddenly, an explosion occurred in the village and screams of villagers could be heard.

"What's going on?" Minato asked as the hospital shook.

"Hokage-sama! A demon named Kyuubi is attacking the village! He's too powerful for us to hold back!" A jounin said as he appeared in the hospital.

"K…Kyuubi? That demon?" Minato asked.

"Sensei, what should we do?" Kakashi asked.

Minato looked at his son for a while before he got a serious look on his face and turned to face Jiraiya and Kakashi.

"I'll use that jutsu to seal the monster into my son. Until then, hold him off as long as you can while I get prepared." Minato said, shocking the two men.

"Are you insane? That jutsu is too dangerous and you don't even know if that child can hold the demon!" Jiraiya replied.

"Besides, isn't it a bit too much to ask your son to become the container of the demon?" Kakashi asked.

"And who else can I use? I can't put this burden on any child other than my own! Besides, who's better fit to hold the demon than the child of the Hokage." Minato said as he looked down at Naruto who was giggling despite the danger outside the hospital.

"So you're really determined to go through with this, aren't you? Well then, I will not stop you. Just make sure you don't mess up, gaki." Jiraiya grinned.

"Of course I won't, ero-sennin." Minato replied with a huge grin.

* * *

"Kakashi-san! Thank God you're here!" One of the jounins on the battlefield said. 

"Hokage-sama said to hold off the beast until he arrives. He will take care of everything." Kakashi said, and the jounin nodded.

* * *

"Yosh, everything is set!" Minato said as he then picked up his son who now had a seal in his navel, "You're gonna be a hero, Naruto. Yes you will, yes you will." Minato said as he jiggled his son a bit, making the said baby laugh. 

'And I hope they are able to see you as the container, not the demon.' Minato thought as he looked at his son with sad eyes and then headed off.

Minato quickly arrived on the battlefield where there were many wounded lying down.

"I have to hurry! Kuchiyose No Jutsu!" Minato said as he then performed the summoning and summoned a huge red frog.

"Hmm, it's been a while, Minato." The frog said.

"Sorry for summoning you Gamabunta but I need your help in sealing that." Minato said, pointing to the Kyuubi.

"Kyuubi, huh? Che, what kind of mess did you guys get yourselves into this time?" Gamabunta asked.

"I don't know but right now, we have to seal it now before he destroys the entire village!" Minato said as he got on top of the frog's head.

"Got it." Gamabunta said.

"What is this? A puny human and Gamabunta, the old relic of a frog." Kyuubi scoffed.

"You shouldn't underestimate us humans, Kyuubi. We can be quite resilient." Minato said as he then started to go through some seals.

"Whatever you do won't work, puny human!" Kyuubi roared as it lunged toward Gamabunta and Minato.

"You better hurry Minato! Even I am no match for that demon!" Gamabunta said as he saw the demon head for them.

"I'm done! Now eat this: SHIKI FUIN!" Minato yelled and then suddenly, a death god appeared behind him and the seal on Naruto activated.

"The shinigami? Bakana (Impossible!), are you actually going to seal me, the Kyuubi, in that child?" Kyuubi roared as he felt his soul being pulled out.

"Of course I am. The only thing I have to pay for is my life." Minato said with a smirk.

"You've got guts human, but if you think that this seal will hold me for long then you're mistaken! As soon as I find a way out, I'll tear this entire village down, including that man." Kyuubi said before he was finally sealed into Naruto.

"It's done…Guah!" Minato began to say before feeling an immense pain in his heart and falling on the floor. He then looked at his son and smiled, "I'm sorry Naruto…but I guess I won't be watching you grow into the next…Hokage. Take care, my son." Minato said as he touched his son's face and then went cold.

The little baby Naruto giggled and crawled up to play with his father's face but then as if he could understand what had happened, began to cry when his father did not respond and the rain began to fall down.

* * *

Naruto P.O.V 

My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'm thirteen years old. 12 years ago, the Yondaime Hokage, defeated the Kyuubi in order to stop the demon fox from destroying Konoha. But strangely enough, ever since the day I was born, people hated me.

They glared at me with eyes that could burn brighter than the sun, and were merciless, ruthless toward me, treating me like the lowest life-form that ever existed, as if I was a demon. When they would attack me, they would say, "Take that you vile demon!" or "My husband is dead because of you! Do us a favor and just drop dead!" basically cursing my existence and wishing for my very death, as if I died, then their pain would vanish once and for all.

But I never understood why they said all this to an 8-year old boy like myself until one day, when Sarutobi-jiji told me everything...

* * *

_Flashback:_

_"Where is he? Where is Naruto?" The Sandaime Hokage asked the nurses as he walked around the hospital, looking for the young boy._

_"The de...I mean the boy is in room 302, Hokage-sama." One of the nurses answered and caught herself before calling the boy "demon" as that I would incur the wrath of the mighty Hokage and a pissed off Hokage was the last thing one would want to face._

_"Thank you miss, and I would advise next time to make sure that not even syllable of that word ever leave your mouth, understood?" The Hokage said sternly, glaring at the young nurse, who could only nervously nod under the glare of the mighty Hokage. The Hokage then headed for the room, and when he arrived, opened the door to reveal a young boy with unruly blond hair, blue eyes, shirtless, on a hospital bed, with his head down._

_"Are you alright, Naruto-kun?" the Hokage asked._

_"Yes I am, Sarutobi-ojisan." Naruto replied solemnly without even looking up at the Hokage._

_'Hmm, it looks like the Kyuubi healed him since according to Kakashi, he was covered with lacerations and bruises all over his body,' The Hokage noticed as he remembered the anbu captain's report of the incident as he was the one who brought Naruto to the hospital._

_"Tell me something, ojisan..." Naruto started to say, taking the Hokage out of his thoughts._

_"What is it, Naruto-kun?" The Hokage asked but then his eyes slightly widened as he saw tears coming from Naruto._

_"Why? Why do they treat me like this? Why do they hate me? Is it because of those pranks I pull? Whatever it is, I'll stop!" Naruto said, nearly yelling as he looked at the Hokage with his tear-covered face._

_"It's not about you did exactly..." The Hokage said, sighing as he got himself in a tough situation. Could he really tell the kid the truth, the truth that he was actually the container for the Kyuubi Kitsune that attacked the village eight years old._

_"THEN WHAT IS IT? PLEASE, YOU HAVE TO TELL ME! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! Every night, I fear I may get attacked by them and even when I walked down the streets, I'm scared I might get killed. PLEASE, YOU HAVE TO TELL ME!" Naruto practically begged to the Hokage, pulling on the robes of the Hokage and crying on them. The Hokage was shocked by what the boy said and then sighed. He pats the boy on the head and then closes the door._

_"I wished I did not have to tell you this now but it looks like I have no choice. Naruto-kun, the reason why the villagers hate you is because you hold the Kyuubi Kitsune." The Hokage revealed to the young boy._

_"But that can't be, it was said that the Yondaime defeated the demon fox." Naruto replied in disbelief._

_"That was a lie, a lie concocted by the council and myself in order to make sure that your generation or future generations would not know about the truth and hate you as well for being the container of the Kyuubi." The Hokage replied._

_"So, am I truly the demon? Is that why they hate me?" Naruto asked, trembling at the truth he learned._

_"No you are not, you are merely the container, the one that holds the demon fox at bay." The Hokage replied._

_"But why me? Why did the Yondaime have to choose me?" Naruto asked, not trembling anymore but still a bit shocked by all this._

_"Because Naruto-kun, the Yondaime could not impose this on any children of other families. The only one he was willing to use is his own child." The Hokage answered sagely._

_"W..what? I'm the Yondaime's son?" Naruto asked, gaping and shocked at this latest revelation._

_"Yes you are. Your real name is Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto. Your father was Namikaze Minato and your mother was Uzumaki Kushina. Your mother had died when she had you and Minato decided to use his own son for the kinjutsu since he could not put this burden on anyone else's family. He wanted you to grow as a hero, but obviously his plans were dashed away by the idiocy of the villagers." Sarutobi explained, saying the last part with a hint of venom in his voice as he could not believe the people of his own villagers would have this much hatred for a little boy._

_"The Hokage that I admired the most was my father...ojisan, can you tell me more about my father and mother?" Naruto asked._

_"Of course." The Hokage smiles._

_End Flashback _

Sarutobi-ojisan told me alot about my parents and how great people they were. That is when I decided to to create a dream for myself and one that I will do whatever it takes to achieve it but first, I needed to get stronger. The Academy that I was attending taught us basic jutsus like bushin and kawarini no jutsu but in order for me to achieve my goals, I needed to more than that.

* * *

Normal P.O.V 

KNOCK KNOCK!

"Come in." Sarutobi asked as he was filing paperwork. He looked up as the person entered the room and it was none other than Naruto, who had on a black shirt with the whirlpool logo on the front, gray shorts, and blue shoes.

"Did you get yourselves some new clothes, Naruto-kun?" Sarutobi asked as he saw what the young Namikaze was wearing.

"Yep, used a henge to trick the owners into letting me buy some new clothes. It's ironic that they live in a ninja village and yet can't even recognize a henge. That's not good for our village if half of them are morons, ojisan." Naruto said nonchalantly.

'That boy is becoming a smart-ass more and more by the day, ever since I told him the stories of his father who ironically was also a smart-ass as well.' Sarutobi thought, smiling at the boy's antics.

"Anyway, I need your help, ojisan." Naruto asked as he walked up to the hokage.

"And what would that be, Naruto-kun?" Sarutobi asked.

"I want you to teach me advanced ninjutsu, not that crap that we are learning from the academy." Naruto said bluntly.

"I see, but I'm sorry Naruto-kun but I can't teach you." Sarutobi replied with a grin.

"Huh? And why is that? Don't tell me it's some stupid rule or something." Naruto asked.

"No it's not but it's just that it would be unfair if you learned from the Hokage himself while others of your age did not. As Hokage, I have to be fair to everyone and not just one person no matter how close I am to them, and besides, I already taught you Kage Bushin. But if you really do want to learn advanced ninjutsu, then I have someone in mind." Sarutobi said.

Kakashi was standing in front of a stone in the cemetery of Konoha like he does everyday. Of course, one would if they have lost as have many comrades as Kakashi had over the years.

* * *

"Would you be Hatake Kakashi?" Naruto asked as he entered the cemetery. 

"Yes, and you must be Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, right?" Kakashi asked as he looked at the boy with both his eyes.

"How do you know about that?" Naruto asked, surprised that someone knew his real full name.

"I was your father's student when he was a jounin." Kakashi replied.

"I see. This stone here, it's a stone of those killed in action, right? Would my father be there?" Naruto asked as he looked at the stone.

"Actually, he would be buried over there next to your mother." Kakashi said and he walked up to where Minato and Kushina were buried.

"Tou-san, kaa-san." Naruto whispered.

"So kid, what did you want to talk to me about? I doubt you came all this way just for that?" Kakashi asked.

"Oh yeah, I almost forget. Sarutobi-ojisan told me that you could train me in ninjutsu." Naruto said as he remembered why he came up to the silver-haired ninja.

'He calls the hokage ojisan?' Kakashi thought as he heard the nickname Naruto had for the hokage, "So you want to learn advanced ninjutsu? But you're only in the academy." Kakashi replied.

"Yeah but I have amazing chakra reserves and stamina, and also, I know this. Kage Bushin No Jutsu!" Naruto said and then created five clones.

"Wow, that's amazing for someone who is still in the academy, but why do you want to learn advanced ninjutsu so badly?" Kakashi asked the Namikaze.

"Because I want to surpass my father and become the greatest Hokage that ever lived." Naruto boasted.

"That's a huge goal kid considering your dad was known as the strongest Hokage ever. But if you want to outdo him so badly, then perhaps I can be of some help. Here, hold this." Kakashi said and then took out a white piece of paper and handed it to Naruto who grabbed with his left hand.

"What the heck is that for?" Naruto asked.

"I want you to channel your chakra into it. The reason for this is that it will help you determine what type of elemental ninjutsu you can perform." Kakashi answered.

"Elemental ninjutsu, you mean ninjutsu that are based on the elements of fire, wind, earth, water, and lightning, right?" Naruto asked.

"Precisely." Kakashi replied.

"Okay, here I go." Naruto said and then channeled his chakra into the paper and then the paper split in two.

"Hmm, you have an elemental affinity toward wind. Well, I don't know any wind ninjutsus myself personally and the leaf village is not known for wind ninjutsu, but I can help you with basic wind jutsu training." Kakashi said and then grabbed a leaf and gave it to Naruto.

"A leaf? You call that basic ninjutsu training?" Naruto asked.

"Shut up and listen. The reason why I am giving you this leaf is for you to cut it with your wind chakra. By doing that, you'll be able to…" Kakashi began to say only to be interrupted by Naruto.

"Done." Naruto said as he showed the two pieces of the leaf to Kakashi whose eyes bulged out.

"You finished already? What kind of academy student are you?" Kakashi asked.

"What? Was this supposed to be hard?" Naruto asked, confused at the jounin's reaction.

"For an academy student, yes it was supposed to be hard." Kakashi replied.

"Then it seems the standards have plummeted then. Anyway, thanks for the elemental affinity thingy since now I can come up with better jutsus." Naruto said as he started to walk away.

'That boy…he's just like you, Minato-sensei.' Kakashi thought.

* * *

Naruto was on his way back to his apartment when he suddenly heard a girl's screams. He rushed down and saw that a girl with pink hair was getting picked on by some girls who held her book in their hands and forced her to get it from them. 

"Look at that girl! So weak, and such a huge forehead!" One of the girls said.

"Please give me back my book!" The pink-haired girl cried out.

"Or else what? You're going to try to attack us with your big forehead?" Another of the girls asked.

"Hmm, Medical Ninjutsu 101. Sounds like an interesting book." Naruto said as he was holding the book in his hands.

"H…how did you get that book?" The leader of the girls asked.

"I grabbed it from your hand while you weren't looking, duh. I mean, did you expect me to ask or something." Naruto said nonchalantly.

"You've got some nerves, kid." The leader growled.

"So you can make coherent sentences after all. I thought you were just some big mentally challenged brute." Naruto said, causing the leader to flush in anger.

'W…who is this boy?' Sakura thought.

"Now leave or else. Kage Bushin No Jutsu." Naruto said and a horde of clones popped in, scaring the girls and making them leave. He smirked and then walked up to the girl and handed her the book.

"Thank you very much." Sakura said with a smile.

"Now that I look at it, your forehead is huge." Naruto said, causing the girl to flinch and her eyes to water until she felt a sensation on her forehead and saw that Naruto had kissed it, "But it also looks very kissable." Naruto said with a wide grin, causing the girl to blush.

"By the way, did you get book from the library?" Naruto asked.

"Y…yes I did. A...actually, I was on my way there, d…do you want to go with…me?" Sakura asked, her face now red as she still didn't recover from her daze.

"Sure." Naruto said with a foxy grin, causing Sakura to turn into color that was humanely impossible.

* * *

"Man, this trip was worth it. Now I have enough books to get started on my training! Arigato hmm…what's your name?" Naruto asked the girl as they returned from the library.

"Haruno Sakura." Sakura replied.

"Arigato, Sakura-chan." Naruto grinned.

"No problem and thank you for saving me from those bullies..." Sakura said but then trailed off as she did not know his name either.

"Oh yeah I forgot, I never introduced myself. The name's Namikaze Naruto." Naruto said sheepishly.

"Well, this is where I live. I guess I'll see you some other time." Sakura said as she arrived on the doorsteps of her home.

"Then I'll see you tomorrow at the academy then." Naruto said.

"Wait, you go to the academy?" Sakura asked.

"Of course I do. I just don't show up unless what we're learning is interesting which is only about 5 percent of the time." Naruto answered.

"Oh, well then I'll see you whenever you come by." Sakura said, and then opened the door to her house and closed it.

'For her, I might just show up in class tomorrow.' Naruto thought before heading off.

* * *

"Okay class, calm down. It's time for row call so please say something when I say your name…" Iruka said and then started to go down the list, "Namikaze Naruto…" Iruka said. 

"Here." Naruto said and everyone turned to see the young Namikaze lounging on his seat.

"You actually came to class? Oh thank you kami, what a miracle." Iruka said as he got down on his knees and fake tears came out of his eyes causing everyone in the classroom to sweatdrop.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch. I only came here as a favor for someone." Naruto said.

'D…did he come to the academy for me?' Sakura asked as she looked up from her book.

"Naruto…you've finally come back." A voice said and everyone turned to see Sasuke who was grinning like crazy at Naruto and cracking his knuckles.

"Oh, hey Sasuke." Naruto said, greeting the young Uchiha.

"Don't hey me! You know what time it is, right?" Sasuke asked.

"Oh yeah, it's that time." Naruto said as he understood what the Uchiha meant.

"What do they mean by that time?" A brown-haired boy asked Shikamaru.

"It's basically an eternal combat between Sasuke and Naruto. The premise is simple: If Sasuke can punch Naruto just once, then he wins and makes Naruto do his homework. If Sasuke can't punch Naruto in one try, then he has to buy Naruto ramen." Shikamaru explained.

"That doesn't seem so bad." The brown-haired boy said.

"NOT BAD? Are you out of your mind, you fool!" Chouji yelled.

"What's so bad about the consequences for either one?" The brown-haired boy asked, confused.

"It's not bad if Sasuke wins but if he loses, it's bad for him. You see, Naruto has an insatiable appetite for Ramen which is 100 hundred times worse than my hunger for anything." Chouji said, making the boy gulp since Chouji's appetite was legendary among the academy.

"And on top of that, it has been reported that Naruto eats on average ten bowls of ramen each day. Now multiply that by the amount of money they each cost and this is how much Sasuke has to spend every time he loses and so far, he's lost ten times in a row." Shikamaru added on.

"Oh my god…that's insane. But if it costs that much then why doesn't he just quit?" The brown-haired boy then asked.

"Because of Sasuke's pride and nature. Sasuke cannot admit defeat now matter what and on top of that, Sasuke loves to fight anyone and thus cannot bring himself to refuse such an opportunity." Shikamaru said.

"So in reality, Naruto is using Sasuke's hunger for fighting to his own advantage. How cruel." The brown-haired boy said.

"Kiba, do you have the commentary ready?" Chouji asked.

"Yes I do, and as of right now, Sasuke is tensing up, ready to strike while Naruto is seating comfortably in his chair, awaiting Sasuke's attack. Ha, Sasuke throws his bookbag at Naruto who catches but wait a minute! That was only a distraction to allow Sasuke to get in close for the kill! Will he actually pull it off!?" Kiba asked as everyone was on edge.

"Moratta (Got you)!" Sasuke yelled as he threw a right hook and smirked as he connected only for Naruto to turn into…

"I…Iruka-sensei!?" Sasuke gasped.

"W…what…happened?" Iruka asked, dazed and nearly knocked out from the blow.

"Ouch. It seems Naruto pulled a kawarini at the last minute, switching places with Iruka-sensei. Another tough loss for Sasuke. Will he ever recover from another crushing defeat?" Kiba commentated.

"URUSAI!" Sasuke yelled at Kiba.

"Nice work there, Sasuke." Naruto asked as he was on Iruka's desk.

"I hate you." Sasuke growled.

"That's not what you said last night in bed, Sasuke-chan." Naruto smirked, making the yaoi fangirls blush and squeal.

"I'LL RIP YOUR BALLS OFF!" Sasuke roared only to be held back by Kiba, Chouji, and Shikamaru.

* * *

Later, Naruto and Sasuke are eating ramen at Ichiraku Ramen. 

"Aw come on Sasuke. You're the one who agreed to this and besides, you can consider this as a part of your shinobi training." Naruto said to the extremely-pissed Uchiha who literally had an aura of rage around him, scaring bystanders.

"By the way, you should cool down because you're scaring Ayame-chan and Teuchi-san." Naruto said.

"A…akuma (devil)." Ayame and her father whispered, extremely scared of the Uchiha.

"You're right about that and besides, it's much more fun than what we learn in class but be warned; I will get that hit if it's the last thing I do before graduating." Sasuke said smirking as he cooled down.

"Whatever you say." Naruto replied.

"See you whenever you come back to class, Naruto." Sasuke said as he headed off.

Naruto finished his meal and turned around to leave only to bump into Sakura, and falling down…on top of her, causing the girl to blush furiously.

"Well, this is an interesting position we're in huh, Sakura-chan?" Naruto grinned, and then helped her up get off the ground.

"Gomen nasai, I should have watched where I was going." Sakura said as she got her books.

"Did you want to see me for something?" Naruto asked.

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to come to the library with me? I was going to review what we've learned in class today and also get more books." Sakura asked blushing.

"I didn't really pay attention to what Iruka-sensei said since I already knew about it but I wouldn't mind going with you, Sakura-chan." Naruto said with a grin, and then the two headed off.

* * *

_4 years later; Present time_

Normal P.O.V

"Alright class, today is the Genin Exam and this year's exam will be on bushin no jutsu. When I call your name, please come to the room next door so that Iruka can begin your test." Mizuki, one of the teachers of the class, instructed

"Man, this is going to be such a troublesome test. Hey Naruto, what do you think?" Shikamaru asked the young blond who now was wearing a white jacket with a red spiral on the back and red flames, dark orange shirt, black shorts, black shoes, and silver fingerless gloves with white spirals on them.

"I think the best thing for you to do is worry about yourself, Shikamaru. I mean for god's sake, the ground itself can move more than you can in a month." Naruto said.

"Damn that guy and his smart-mouth. I'm so depressed." Shikamaru said as he sat down in the corner.

"It's okay, Shikamaru. It's all okay." Chouji said, comforting his friend.

"Naruto…" Sasuke whispered as he was dressed in a blue shirt with the Uchiha fan on the back, white shorts, bandages on his feet and blue shoes. He also had blood on his knuckles.

"You almost missed the test, Sasuke, and what's up with the blood on your knuckles?" Iruka asked.

"Oh, that? It's from a group of ten bullies I beat up on the way here. They bumped into me and pissed me off." Sasuke explained.

'You beat the crap out of people for bumping into you?' Iruka thought with a sweat drop behind his head.

"Could today finally be the day Sasuke lands a punch on Naruto?" Kiba said as his dog barked.

"Here I come, Naruto!" Sasuke said and then poofed up, revealing him to be a Kage Bushin.

'Shit! I forgot he learned KB from me during our training sessions!' Naruto thought.

"I win this time!" Sasuke said as he was right behind Naruto and struck him with a roundhouse kick, only for Naruto to poof away.

"So Naruto was a clone too!?" Everyone exclaimed.

"Good thing I thought of creating a clone as back-up just in case. Well, it looks like you've missed your last chance, Sasuke." Naruto said as he entered the classroom and then sat down next to Sakura.

"You really shouldn't do that to Sasuke, Naruto-kun." Sakura said.

"But it's so much fun, Sakura-chan." Naruto replied with a grin.

"I'm such a loser…" Sasuke said, heavily depressed as he banged his head on his desk multiple times.

'You tried your best, Sasuke-kun.' Hinata thought as she looked at the Uchiha heir.

"Next, Namikaze Naruto." Mizuki called out and Naruto stood up and headed for the room where Iruka was waiting for him.

* * *

"Okay Naruto, the Hokage asked me to give you a different test." Iruka said. 

"Oh really?" Naruto asked as he raised his eyebrow.

"So instead of the usual test, will be tested for each jutsu style. You pass all three and you receive your headband, okay." Iruka explained.

"No prob." Naruto nodded.

"First up is genjutsu. All you have to do is show me a genjutsu technique." Iruka says.

Naruto went through a number of seals and then in an instant, Iruka finds himself falling from the sky.

"Woahhhhhhhhhhhh! KAI! KAI!" Iruka yelled out and then cancels the genjutsu.

"That was amazing, Naruto. Alright, next up is ninjutsu, which should be easier since it is your strongest style." Iruka says after he recovered from the genjutsu.

Naruto does a seal and then vanishes in the wind and was instantly behind Iruka.

"So, how do you like my Kaze Shunshin No Jutsu (Wind Body Flicker Technique), Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked with a slight grin.

'Not only did he master the Shunshin No Jutsu but he also create an elemental version of it? I knew Naruto was extremely talented in Ninjutsu but not this talented.' Iruka thought. He then sighed and turned around to meet Naruto, "Very good Naruto. Now, the last one is Taijutsu and all you have to do is fight me so I can see how well your Taijutsu is." Iruka explained.

Naruto nodded and while Iruka got into a traditional fighting stance, Naruto just put his hands in his pocket, confusing Iruka.

"Are you sure you want to stand like that, Naruto?" Iruka asked, grinning.

"I'm sure, sensei." Naruto replied with a somewhat cold, causing Iruka to flinch.

Iruka then charges toward Naruto and starts to throw a left punch but then was about to switch to a right punch when suddenly, Naruto grabbed his right arm to flip him into the air and into the ground.

"W...what happened? Naruto, how did you do that?" Iruka asked, confused at what his student did.

"It's simple, Iruka-sensei. I saw your right arm slightly move, indicating that you were going to attack with it instead and your first attack was a feint. Despite the speed and strength difference between the two of us, my ability to deduce your attack enabled me to react faster than you and thus counter you." Naruto explained, as if it wasn't such a big deal.

'I forgot that not only is Naruto a smart-ass, he's also very intelligent.' Iruka thought.

"Well, I don't think I need to continue this test then. As of now, you are now a genin, Naruto." Iruka says as he gets back up. He then gets one of the headbands from the table in the room, and then gives it to Naruto, who wraps it around his left arm.

"After the exam, you want to go to Ichiraku and get some Ramen, Naruto?" Iruka asked.

"Absolutely." Naruto answered with foxy grin.

* * *

Later, Iruka and Naruto are at Ichiraku Ramen Shop, waiting for their ramen. 

"I'm so happy you became a Genin, Naruto-kun." the ramen shop's daughter known as Ayame said with a smile.

"Thank you, Ayame-chan. It means alot to me coming from you." Naruto replied with a beautiful smile, causing Ayame to blush.

'He may not look like it but Naruto is a true charmer. If it wasn't for his sarcastic wit and bluntness toward people, he would had have a bigger fan-club than Uchiha Sasuke.' Iruka thought as he sweatdropped from his former student's charms.

"Here you go, two miso ramen, on the house thanks to Naruto's graduation." Teuchi, the owner of the ramen shop, sayid as he hands the ramen to the two men.

"You didn't have to do that, sir. Besides, you are running a business and you need all the money you can get." Naruto protested, not wanting to get the ramen for free.

"Don't worry about it, consider this as a favor for one of my best customers." Teuchi replied.

"Thank you very much, ojisan." Naruto said humbly and then proceed to eat the ramen.

"Iruka! Iruka!" A person yelled. When Iruka turned around, he saw a brown-haired chuunin heading toward him.

"What is it?" Iruka asked suprised.

"It's Mizuki. He stole the forbidden scrolls from the Hokage Tower." The chunnin answered frantically, shocking both Naruto and Iruka.

"Alright, I'll be right there." Iruka said and the chunnin nodded before heading off.

"Iruka-sensei, let me come with you." Naruto asked.

"I appreciate the help Naruto but this is a matter beyond your hands. I will not allow a genin to be mixed in these things." Iruka said, rejecting the offer.

"You must let me come with you. Mizuki, by stealing from the Hokage, has betrayed the code of this village and thus needs to be punished. If I am to become Hokage, then I need to prove myself and finding Mizuki is the best way to do so as a ninja of this village." Naruto said with a tone of one that will not take no for an answer.

"Naruto..." Iruka says, shocked at the vigor his usually calm student displayed and then sighed, "Alright Naruto, you can come with me." Iruka finally said, defeated.

The two then head off in search of Mizuki, who meanwhile was running in the forest.

* * *

"Yes, finally the scroll is mine. With this, I'll be able to gain immense power and crush all those who stand in my way! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Mizuki laughed as he continued to run through the forest before he is then kicked in the face by Iruka, who intercepted him along with Naruto. 

"Hey Mizuki, here's a tip. Laughing to yourself out loud will make it easier to find you and on top of that, it makes you look retarded." Naruto said with a smirk.

"You're not going anywhere, Mizuki." Iruka said.

"Iruka!" Mizuki says but then sees Naruto nearby, and growled, "Naruto."

It was no secret that Mizuki loathed Naruto for carrying the demon fox and tried to fail him multiple times but no matter how many times he tried, he just could not rattle the young man and that irritated Mizuki even more.

"Great job figuring out this shortcut, Naruto." Iruka grinned and gave his thumbs-up to his student.

"It was nothing, sensei. Just the most logical choice." Naruto said deadpanned, "And you, what kind of dumbass actually steals from the Hokage himself? Geez, no wonder I never learned anything from you, Mizuki-_sensei_." Naruto said, saying the sensei part sarcastically.

"Urusai, gaki!" Mizuki yelled.

"Now Mizuki, drop the scrolls now and come with us." Iruka asked the blue-haired chuunin.

"Never and besides, I can't drop them since I'm not here." 'Mizuki' grinned and then poofed away.

"A bushin?" Naruto and Iruka both exclaimed, shocked.

"He must have created one when you hit him so he can fool us and hide away." Naruto said.

"But where did he go?" Iruka asked as the two looked around.

'This is bad. This forest allows him perfect hiding place and if I remember, there was a huge shuriken on that bushin's back which means he does have one as well and can use this forest as a way to throw it without being detected.' Naruto analyzed. He then suddenly felt something coming his way and turned around to see a large shuriken heading his way, and thus ducked to avoid it.

"That was close." Naruto whispered.

"Naruto, get out of the way! Another one is heading your way!" Iruka yelled, and Naruto turned his head and saw another coming his way.

'Another one? But he only has one! Unless...he must have created a replication of it and threw the first one and then threw the second one as soon as I dodged the first one, thus putting me a horrible position to defend myself.' Naruto thought.

'I won't be able to dodge it! Is this truly the end for me, am I going to die without reaching my goals?!' Naruto said mentally, closed his eyes, and braced himself for the shuriken...but the blow never came and when he opened his eyes, he saw Iruka hunched over him with the shuriken on his back.

"No...Iruka-sensei." Naruto says in disbelief and shock at what just happened.

"You must think what I just did was stupid wasn't it? That it wasn't the most logical choice, huh? But you have to understand something Naruto. The reason I did this was because I believe in you." Iruka began to explain.

"Believe in me?" Naruto repeated

"Yes, I believe in you Naruto. I believe that you will become Hokage because I see one in you and us, as the older generation, have to protect the dreams of the next generation no matter what the cost. And also, you've become the little brother I never had and what kind of older brother would I be if I let my otouto die without even reaching his dreams." Iruka says with a smile and coughed some blood.

"How touching Iruka. Too bad you did it for the demon boy." Mizuki grinned as he came out from his hiding place.

"Pathetic really, that he decided to sacrifice his life for someone as worthless as you but then again, this is what happens when you are a sentimental fool." Mizuki grinned darkly.

"How dare you hurt Iruka-sensei!" Naruto growled as he put Iruka's body on the ground and then pulled out the shuriken from the teacher's back and threw it aside, "There are two types of people I hate, Mizuki. People that treat others unfairly and traitors and you Mizuki are the latter." Naruto says, glaring at the teacher with a cold glare.

"Oh, and?" Mizuki asked with a cocky tone.

"My dream, no ambition, is to become Hokage and also revive the Namikaze clan as its leader and to do that, I have to prove myself as a ninja and I will do so by crushing you, Mizuki, until you no longer retain a human form!" Naruto shouted in pure anger

"Quit talking big, demon! There's no way you can beat me!" Mizuki laughed.

"That's what you think Mizuki, but you're wrong! I will defeat you." Naruto replied.

"Then bring it on!" Mizuki hollered.

"Kage Bushin No Jutsu." Naruto whispered and then does a handseal and over a hundred clones appear.

"What? What's going on?" Mizuki asked, frightened at the number of clones.

"Here's your punishment, Mizuki!" Naruto says and then he sends his clones all on Mizuki, who ends up being beaten to a pulp.

"Iruka-sensei, Iruka-sensei." Iruka heard as he woke up and saw Naruto next to him.

"Naruto? You're alright." Iruka asked his student.

"I'm alright, sensei, though I wouldn't say the same for you, you're still wounded from that shuriken." Naruto replied.

"It's okay, but what about Mizuki?" Iruka asked as he wondered about the traitor.

"He's been...incapacitated for right now." Naruto answered and Iruka looked up to Naruto's direction and saw the pile of flesh that was Mizuki and winced and made a mental note to never anger the young blond.

'Naruto, it looks like you will have a bright future ahead of you." Iruka thought as he looked at Naruto.

"Alright, sensei. Let's go, we have to bring the scroll back to jiji and get you to the hospital." Naruto says as he puts Iruka on his shoulders.

"No matter what, I'm very proud of you Naruto." Iruka says.

"A...Arigato, Iruka-sensei." Naruto says, a little embarrassed, and then adds mentally, 'And thank you for believing in me.'

END

* * *

Author's Note: 

Please read and review and leave constructive criticism. Now for the changes I made,

I will not change the bulk of the story. The events will stay the same and so will the OC's, just that I decided to tweak some things or take out unnecessary additions. Also, I decided to make Naruto more of a smart-ass, intelligent guy since I did start to write him that way during the Tsunade arc and I enjoyed it very much and thus that will be his personality from now on.

So don't worry fans, the story remains the same, just a bit tweaked to make it better since I'm sorry but when it comes to creative writing, I'm a bit of perfectionist and the story, despite its depth, felt somewhat rushed as if I was pumping out chapters after chapters when I should take more time to write them down. So the updates will come a bit slower (not like every month but two or three days slower) in order for me to give you the best reading possible.

And also, Kakashi does not have the Sharingan. Before you guys go crazy and flame me, the reason why I decided on that idea is because to me, Kakashi is a top jounin and I believed that with the Sharingan, it held him back since he got tired so easily. Without the Sharingan, he would not get so tired and also, it would make him train much harder since he can't copy jutsus. So while he will not have the Sharingan, he will be a complete badass.


	2. Meeting Team 7 and Kakashi

Author's Note: Naruto nor the characters belong to me, they all belong to Kishimoto Masashi. All I am doing is using them in a fictional story.

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 2: Team 7

* * *

RING! RING! RING!

The alarm sounded off and Naruto shut the alarm off.

"Well, time to start the day. I really hope nothing stupid happens." Naruto said as he got off his bed, revealing a muscular chest with scars on it as he was only dressed in gray boxers. He goes and takes a shower and then puts on his clothes and made a cereal dish. He then makes a small prayer and eats it and afterwards heads out with his headband on his right arm. He continues to walk until he arrives at the clearing where the stone that was created for heroes and those killed in action was located. However, he was not the only there as Hatake Kakashi was there as well.

"Yo Kakashi, what's up?" Naruto said as he greeted the man.

"Yo Naruto, came here to see your parents?" Kakashi asked.

"Yep, pretty much." Naruto said as he walked up to his father and mother's graves and closed his eyes. 'Otosan...kaasan I'm finally a genin, and soon I will meet my team, and be one step sooner to my goals. I will make your proud, don't worry.' Naruto said mentally. He then opened his eyes and then started to leave for the academy and as he did, Kakashi was looking at him go.

'I wonder how interesting it will be to teach sensei's son?' Kakashi thought as he reminisced about his meeting with the Hokage.

* * *

_Flashback_

"_So this is Naruto's files, huh?" Kakashi said as he was looking through the files of Naruto that the Hokage gave him._

_"Yes they are. From when you met him four years ago, you may have noticed how he is exactly like his father, correct?" The Hokage asked as he was smoking from his pipe._

"_Yeah, he's a genius and a smart-ass like his dad alright." Kakashi replied as he remember how Minato used to act._

"_And not only that but like his father, he possess the same wind affinity and has a high talent for ninjutsu, even being able to perform a Kaze Shunshin No Jutsu. And finally, he sent Mizuki to the hospital in a coma" The Hokage explained, the last part with a smile as he was proud of the young blonde's achievements._

_"I knew about the Mizuki incident but I did not know he already knew Shunshin No Jutsu and even made an elemental version of it. He is truly like his father when it comes to Ninjutsu." Kakashi said, quite surprised at the blond but then that should not be a surprise considering that the child had already learned the basic exercises of wind affinity at age 8._

_"So, I decided to put him on your team so that way you can help him, and I also decided to put the Uchiha and Haruno on his team as well." The Hokage said._

_"The Uchiha and Haruno? Are you trying to make my team a well-rounded team?" Kakashi asks._

_"You can say that. With Naruto's high aptitude in Ninjutsu, Sasuke's in Taijutsu and Sakura's in Genjutsu, they can not only learn from another very well but pretty much can be a force to be reckoned with. Also, it has been reported to me by Iruka that all three of them are very good friends, especially Sasuke and Naruto who are rivals as well." The Hokage explained_

_"Hmm, this looks like it's going to be fun." Kakashi says with a smile that was shown on his mask._

_End Flashback_

* * *

"Okay kaa-san, I'm leaving now to find out who my team is. I'll be back later this afternoon." Sakura said as she then closed the door and then headed off. On the way, she met Ino, her best friend who was leaving her house as well.

"So Sakura, ready for our big day?" Ino asked.

"I don't know, I did review the entire curriculum of our entire 4-year program so I should be ready for the team meetings today." Sakura answered, making Ino sweatdrop at her answer and look at her quizzically, "What, is something wrong Ino-chan?" Sakura asked.

"You do realize that we are only going to meet our teams, right Sakura?" Ino asked.

"I know I know but I just wanted to be ready for anything." Sakura replied sheepishly.

"Just admit that you just wanted to read for the heck of it, bookworm." Ino grinned.

"I guess so." Sakura replied, scratching the back of her head but then flinched when Ino got real close to her, "What's going on?" Sakura asked.

"So Sakura, when are you and Naruto going to go to second base?" Ino asked with a smirk.

"INO! We're not like that!" Sakura replied with a reddened face.

"Oh please, everyone in the whole school knows you guys love each other and have been dating for four years now. " Ino said.

"And what about you, huh? Aren't you dating someone right now?" Sakura asked, trying to change the subject.

"Please girl, Yamanaka Ino is Konoha's number one single woman and tends to stay that way for a long time! Now back to you and Naruto." Ino said as she flipped the subject back to Sakura and Naruto.

"INO!" Sakura moaned as she knew her friend would not let her off the hook that easily.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke put on his blue shirt with the Uchiha logo on the back, white shorts, blue shoes, headband, brown backpack and fingerless gloves before heading out of his apartment.

"Nice job on becoming a genin, Sasuke." The voice of a man said behind Sasuke.

"Why are you here? I thought you were going around, gathering information and techniques?" Sasuke replied without ever turning his head around to look at the man.

"Don't be that cold, Sasuke. Can't someone congratulate their pupil?" The man asked.

"Whatever, I'm going." Sasuke said smirking as he headed off.

"That kid…no respect for his elders." The man said, chuckling.

* * *

Naruto entered the classroom where most of his classmates were already staying in their seats. He then walked to far right row of the class and sat on an empty chair. Few minutes, Sasuke entered the classroom and sat down next to Naruto and immediately, everyone began to tense up.

"How cute. You're sitting next to me even though you can't hit me anymore." Naruto grinned.

"I hate you." Sasuke said, glaring at the boy.

"That's not what you said during our passionate love-making last night, Sasuke-uke." Naruto chuckled, causing the yaoi fangirls to once again squeal with hearts in their eyes.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP NARUTO AND YOU GIRLS MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!" Sasuke roared.

"Aw come on, lighten up Sasuke. In a few minutes, we're going to go our teams so we can begin our days at genins. The least you could do is become nicer." Naruto said.

"Like hell I will. Just you like you, I have a reputation to uphold." Sasuke said.

"What do you mean like me and what reputation are you talking about?" Naruto asked.

"Just like you have your reputation for being a smart-ass, I have my reputation for being a badass and badasses are not nice!" Sasuke growled.

"So that's your reputation? I thought your reputation was that of a repressed emo homosexual." Naruto said with a grin.

'Just ignore what he said, just ignore it.' Sasuke thought as he was telling him so in order to control his temper.

"Ohayo, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said as he saw Sakura come into the classroom along with Ino.

"H…hello Naruto-kun." Sakura said with a small blush as she sat next to Naruto, "Oh, hi Sasuke." Sakura said waving to the Uchiha heir who simply nodded back at her.

"Alright class. First off, I want to congratulate you for graduating and becoming genins. From this day on, you are official ninjas of this village and will need to go on missions to prove yourself to this village. Every year, when children become genins, they are put in teams of three and the same applies to this year as well. I will thus read off your name and the name of your teammates and your jounin instructor who you will meet later today." Iruka explained to the classroom.

"Team 1 will be Akira Sanada, Yuri Hashegawa, Jin Kazama...Team 2..." Iruka said as he started to read off the team.

"Team 7 will be composed of...wow, I can't believe what I'm seeing but anyway. Team 7 will be composed of Namikaze Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke. Your jounin sensei will be Hatake Kakashi." Iruka said, causing a shock to nearly everyone as everyone in the classroom knew Naruto and Sasuke were tops in the class and Sakura was near the tops among the kunoichi.

'Must be the old man's doing, definitely gotta be it, not that I mind though.' Naruto thought as he grinned.

'I don't mind being with those two, but I don't want to hold them back, especially Naruto-kun." Sakura said in her mind.

'**Don't worry about it, we won't hold them back, Shannaro!" **Inner Sakura said to comfort her other self.

'I could care less who is in my team as long as I get the chance to go on missions and get stronger though with these two, I won't be held back though I wish she was on my team." Sasuke also contemplated in his mind.

"Team 8 will be composed of Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata and Abarame Shino. Your jounin instructor is Yuuhi Kurenai. Team 10 will be composed of Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, and Akimichi Chouji. Your jounin instructor is Sarutobi Asuma." Iruka said and suddenly, a groan could be heard from Ino.

"Damn it, why do I have to be stuck with these two useless buffoons!" Ino yelled out and pointed to both teammates.

"That's because the teams were arranged this way and that's that, Yamanaka. So I suggest you be quiet and get used to them!" Iruka answered sternly, shutting the girl down.

"Life is not fair..." Ino said, slumped on her desk.

"Like I'm going to enjoy this any better myself. Your voice can probably wake up the dead, and having to deal with this for a long while is going to be so troublesome." Shikamaru countered.

"What did you just say, you lazy-ass?!" Ino roared.

"INO!" Iruka said, causing the girl to shut up and Shikamaru to snicker while Chouji was eating his chips.

* * *

As the hours went by, the jounin instructors came to pick up their teams, until there was only one team left, team 7, who were not pleased with their sensei being late. In fact, Sasuke was about to kill someone.

"Damn it! How long does it take for a jounin to get here!" Sasuke yelled angrily. He then turned to Naruto and had a manic look in his face, "Naruto…" Sasuke began to say,

"Don't even think about it Sasuke. I'm not going to fight you." Naruto said, crashing down on the Uchiha's plans.

"That's it, I'm going to eat now." Sasuke said as he then took out a bento box from his book bag and started to eat from it.

"Sasuke, that bento box looks so cute." Sakura said as she noticed his well-made box.

"Yeah Sasuke, who made it for you, your girlfriend?" Naruto snickered but then both Sakura and Naruto were surprised when Sasuke nearly choke on his food upon hearing the word girlfriend, and even blushed.

"Okay Sasuke, what's her name?" Naruto asked grinning as he wanted to hear the juicy info.

"Naruto-kun, I don't think it's right to ask him such a question." Sakura said.

"Aw come on, Sakura-chan. What's wrong with me, as a teammate no less, wanting to know the name of Sasuke's girlfriend?" Naruto replied,

"Shut up, Naruto! I'm not telling you anything!" Sasuke said.

"You're no fun." Naruto pouted, "Anyway, this sensei better come quick or else I'm shoving a kunai up his ass." Naruto said.

"I'm sure he has a good explanation to why he is late anyway." Sakura said. '**That damn sensei better get his ass here right now or he's dead, Shannaro!" **Inner Sakura, on the other hand, said.

"He better or else he's toast." Sasuke growled as he returned to his seat.

"Achoo! Someone must be talking about me, hopefully a pretty lady" Kakashi said as he sneezed on his way toward the classroom. He opens the door, and was about to greet his team but then was met by three young genins glaring at him and if looks could kill, Kakashi would be dead by now.

"O...okay. My name is Hatake Kakashi and I'm your jounin sensei. Sorry if I'm late but I had to help an old lady escape from a burning building.." Kakashi said as he introduced himself.

"Really? You had three hours and twenty minutes to come up with an excuse and this is the best you could come up? My god, you suck. Not only do you come late, you can't even come up with a decent excuse and what's worse, it wasn't even funny. What are we going to do with you huh, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto said and then shook his head in disappointment.

"Alright then, team, meet me on the roof now." Kakashi said, ignoring Naruto's comment and then poofs away. The genins then walked up all the way to the roof where their sensei was waiting for them.

"Alright team, we're first going to start this meeting with introductions." Kakashi says.

"Introductions?" Sakura repeated, confused.

'Yeah, yeah, introductions. You basically tell me your likes, dislikes, hobbies, and goals." Kakashi explained.

"Well, since you were late and we know shit about you, how about you start first sensei?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.

"Looks like we got a potty mouth here. Anyway, my name is Hatake Kakashi. My likes, dislikes, and hobbies are none of your business, and my goals are...also none of your business." Kakashi said.

"Wow, that was the most incredible speech I have ever heard in my entire life. Nothing sort of amazing." Naruto said as he even clapped his hands a couple of times.

'Note to self, go to a therapist in order to prepare for a barrage of sarcastic insults at the hands of a mini-version of your sensei.' Kakashi thought.

"Alright, let's start with you blondie." Kakashi said.

"That was actually clever, Kakashi-sensei. There is hope for you after all!" Naruto said, causing his sensei to glare at him before he resumed, "My full name is Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto. My likes are training, ramen, Sakura-chan, my parents, and pissing people off. My dislikes are traitors, people that treat others unfairly, and evil. My hobbies are to create new ninjutsu techniques, read, and coming up with new ways to piss people off. My goals, no my ambition is to become the strongest Hokage to ever live, create a new clan for my family, and become Konoha's most legendary smart-ass." Naruto said, finishing with a grin.

'We're doomed.' Kakashi thought.

"Alright, you're next blossom." Kakashi says to Sakura.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. My likes are learning about medicine, plants, and Naruto-kun," Sakura says and slightly looks at Naruto before continuing, "My dislikes are unfair people, bullies. My hobbies are growing new plants, read books, and helping out with the kids at the orphanage. My goal is to become a strong kunoichi and medic-nin." Sakura finished.

'It seems she has a crush on our Namikaze but at least she shows alot more focus on her kunoichi training than most girls her age does' Kakashi thought. "Alright, you're last, Uchiha." Kakashi said to Sasuke.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. My likes are fighting and learning new fighting styles. My dislikes are annoying people, weaklings. My hobby is training, beating the shit out of people that piss me off, " Sasuke said only to be interrupted by Naruto.

"Which is basically 97 of all of Konoha." Naruto said.

"Shut up Naruto. Anyway, my ambition is to become the strongest Uchiha that ever lived and also revive my clan." Sasuke finished.

'Very interesting, though underneath it all, one can still see his need for revenge but it's nice to see he has not allowed it completely rule his life.' Kakashi said mentally.

"Alright guys, thank you for your introductions. Now, what are we going to do next is going lots of fun." Kakashi grinned.

"What do you mean by fun, sensei?" Sakura asked a little worried.

"What I mean is that we are going to have ourselves a little training and survival exercise, just the four of us." Kakashi revealed.

"But we already did something like this back in the academy, sensei." Sakura said.

"On top of that, why is this necessary when you already know our capabilities from our academy reports?" Naruto added.

"And besides, shouldn't we be starting on mission instead of wasting on some stupid exercises?" Sasuke asked.

"The reason for this is that these exercises you took in the academy were only child's play compared to this one. This time, you will be up against me, a jounin, in the real world. And also, out of the 27 graduates, only nine will become genins while the others are sent back thus giving this entire test a 66 dropout rate." Kakashi explained grimly, leaving the genins shocked.

"That's insane..." Sakura said.

"Now you got me interested sensei." Sasuke grinned.

"So I will determine if you are worthy or not of becoming ninjas tomorrow at the training grounds. Bring your ninja equipment and meet at 5 am." Kakashi instructed and was about to leave when…

"Bullshit." Naruto blurted out.

"What do you mean by that Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"There's no way in hell you're showing up at 5 am. I mean, you couldn't even come to a 12 o'clock meeting on time." Naruto said.

"Just come at 5 am, I'll be on time I promise." Kakashi sighed before leaving.

'I know he's lying for sure but still, this is the chance I've been waiting for!' Naruto thought.

'I can't let the others down. I have to pass this test so I can finally become a kunoichi and prove that I'm worth something to her.' Sakura thought.

'There's no way I'm failing this test.' Sasuke thought as he shook with anticipation.

* * *

Later, we see Naruto walking down the street heading for his apartment when he suddenly stopped. Then, a young boy with brown hair in a ponytail and wearing a yellow shirt, beige pants, blue scarf, and a head gear came out of the fence as he was hiding in a cloak.

"Holy crap, it's a midget! Oh no, it's just Konohamaru." Naruto said in mock surprise.

"As witty as ever, Naruto-aniki!" Konohamaru said.

"Spill it kid, what do you want now?" Naruto asked.

"I want you to teach that Oroike No Jutsu technique you used on my old man the other day!" Konohamaru exclaimed.

"Oh fuck me. Listen kid, I don't have time to teach you such a stupid technique." Naruto said as he remembered that Konohamaru had stumbled upon him using that technique.

The Hokage had wanted him to take a serious pose for his picture of identification but Naruto refused and in the end performed the technique to disorient the perverted hokage only for Konohamaru to walk into it.

"Why do you want to learn it anyway?" Naruto asked.

"Because you were able to defeat the Hokage with it easily. With that technique, I'll be able to finally beat my old man." Konohamaru answered.

"You?! Beat the Hokage?" Naruto asked before he started to laugh, "Yeah, that'll happened…when hell freezes over." Naruto said as he continued to laugh.

"I'm serious! I am going to beat that old man!" Konohamaru said.

"Alright alright, don't get all pissy on me. Come with me, I'll teach you the jutsu." Naruto said and Konohamaru quickly nodded and walked along with him.

* * *

The two then finally stopped in front of a woman's only hot springs.

"Hmm Naruto-aniki, why are we stopping in front of a hot springs for women only?" Konohamaru asked.

"You'll see. Come on." Naruto said and the young boy followed. They were able to sneak pass the register and entered one of the hot springs, catching the women by surprise.

"What the heck do you think you're doing, perverts?!" One of the women asked.

"We're conducting research for a technique and thus we need one of you to show us your body we can memorize down important information." Naruto said bluntly.

"NO WAY! GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" The woman screamed, enraged.

"Listen ladies, the faster we do this, the faster we can leave and how about this, as a bonus, I'll even give you guys a massage for free." Naruto said.

* * *

"Wow Naruto-aniki. I have never seen things likes this before." Konohamaru said with his face all red.

"Yeah and I can't believe how much money I made with these massages and also the phone numbers I got." Naruto said smirking.

"So, am I going to learn it now?" Konohamaru asked.

"Yep." Naruto said as they then stopped in a training field, "Now all you have to do is transform into a woman using what you have seen in the hot springs, okay?" Naruto said.

"Okay, henge!" Konohamaru said.

* * *

'Where is he? Where is young master Konohamaru?' Ebisu thought as he was looking for Konohamaru everywhere.

'I knew I should have never went peeping while watching over him. He's probably with that smart-mouthed nine-tails brat.' Ebisu thought.

* * *

"It's official Konohamaru, you have no talent whatsoever as a ninja." Naruto said looking bored as the boy had yet to create a perfect transformation.

"It's not my fault! Every time I try to do it, I lose my concentration and mess up." Konohamaru complained.

"Look, I'll show you once okay." Naruto said before transforming into a young naked blonde girl with clouds covering her privates and pigtails and whisker marks. He then undid the jutsu.

"See, not so hard is it?" Naruto said.

"There you are, Konohamaru!" Ebisu said as he arrived, "And it seems you're with that dangerous boy here!" Ebisu added.

"Who the hell are you?" Naruto asked.

"My name is Ebisu and I'm an elite jounin teacher! I was assigned by the Hokage himself to train his honorable grandson." Ebisu said with a hint of pride.

"Stop calling me that! And besides, I'm training with Naruto-aniki." Konohamaru said.

"And what can that boy possibly teach you that I can't?" Ebisu asked with a smirk.

"This technique! Oroike No Jutsu (Sexy No Jutsu)!" Konohamaru said and transformed into a young woman with brown hair and was totally naked and covered by smoke to hider her privates.

"Such a foolish technique will not work against me." Ebisu said, smirking.

"No way, why didn't it work?" Konohamaru asked as he undid the jutsu.

"Step aside and let me show you how it's done, kid." Naruto said. He then did created a mass amount of shadow clones, and then he and all of the clones transformed into their Sexy No Jutsu forms.

"We call it the Harem No Jutsu. So Ebisu-san, what do you think?" Naruto and his clones all said as they winked at him and then started to rub on him.

Ebisu lost control and then was knocked high into the sky by a massive nosebleed. The Narutos grinned and then Naruto undid all of his clones and returned to normal.

"That was so awesome Naruto-aniki! Can you teach me that too!" Konohamaru asked.

"Sorry kid, I gotta go. Besides, how the heck are you gonna get stronger if you keep asking other people to teach you jutsus?" Naruto asked.

"What do you mean by that?" Konohamaru asked.

"What I mean is that if you want to make your own path, you have to do it on your own. No one is going going to help you get stronger except for you and you only. So stop asking people to teach you jutsus all the time and invent your own jutsus." Naruto said.

"Okay, Naruto-aniki. I'll do that from now on and create my own awesome jutsus." Konohamaru said.

Naruto waved to the kid and headed back to his apartment. Sunset turned into night as everyone went to sleep except for three people…

* * *

"324…325…326…327…328…329…330!" Sasuke said as he had completed 330 one-handed push-ups. He then wiped the sweat off his forehead and drank from a bottle of water before looking at a picture of his family, and his face started to sadden.

"Don't worry, I'll make things right." Sasuke said.

* * *

"Alright! I finally completed all of my books! Sakura said as she took off her glasses and breathed a sigh of relief, "I'll be able to pass this test now!" Sakura said with a smile.

* * *

"Kunais, check. Shurikens, check. Jutsu scrolls, check. Hmm, I think I'll be ready for this test." Naruto said.

* * *

Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke all arrive at the training ground the next day nearly half-alseep.

"Hey..." They all said to each other.

4 hours later, they were nearly sleeping when suddenly, Kakashi appeared.

"Ohayo minna (Hi everyone.)" Kakashi said as he arrived on the grounds.

"YOU'RE LATE!" They all shouted at him.

"Sorry but an old lady needed help from a group of bandits that were attacking her, and..." Kakashi began to say but then stopped as his students were glaring at him and not buying his lie, causing him to sweat drop.

"Okay, moving on. The first test will be a training test. The objective is simple, all you have to do is fight with everything you got. If you can last with me for 10 minutes, you will pass the test. Simple to understand, right?" Kakashi smiled.

'Simple to understand, but not simple to accomplish. I can feel it, he's definitely not your average jounin.' Naruto thought

"If there are no questions, let's begin. Uchiha Sasuke, you're up." Kakashi said and the Uchiha grinned.

To be continued...


	3. Kakashi's Exams

Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke all arrive at the training ground the next day nearly half-asleep.

"Hey..." They all said to each other.

4 hours later, they were nearly sleeping when suddenly, Kakashi appeared.

"Ohayo minna (Hi everyone.)" Kakashi said as he arrived on the grounds.

"YOU'RE LATE!" They all shouted at him.

"Sorry but an old lady needed help from a group of bandits that were attacking her, and..." Kakashi began to say but then stopped as his students were glaring at him and not buying his lie, causing him to sweat drop.

"Okay, moving on. The first test will be a training test. The objective is simple, all you have to do is fight with everything you got. If you can last with me for 10 minutes, you will pass the test. Simple to understand, right?" Kakashi smiled.

'Simple to understand, but not simple to accomplish. I can feel it, he's definitely not your average jounin.' Naruto thought

"If there are no questions, let's begin. Uchiha Sasuke, you're up." Kakashi said and the Uchiha grinned

* * *

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 3: Kakashi's Exams

* * *

"It's about time. I've been itching to kick your ass." Sasuke said with a grin as he walked up to his sensei.

"Don't get too cocky, kid." Kakashi said.

"Hmm." Sasuke smirked as he got into his stance and stared at his sensei, '2 meters, that's my best range. If I am further than that, I won't have nearly as much success. But that guy is a jounin which means he's an elite and thus won't let me get close to him easily which means I'll have to a find a way to close the distance.' Sasuke thought.

'Uchiha Sasuke…his strength and speed are above that of a normal genin and his taijutsu is said to be the top of his class. If he wants to achieve maximum damage then he'll have to get close to me, probably about 2 to 3 meters at best and he probably already knows I'm not going to let him get that close so easily.' Kakashi thought.

"Here I come!" Sasuke yelled out and started to do some seals and then reared back as he breathed in, "Katon: Goukyakuu No Jutsu (Grand Fireball Technique)!" Sasuke yelled out and fired a huge fiery blast at Kakashi.

"Raiton: Musei Raikou No Jutsu (Lightning Release: Silent Lightning Technique)." Kakashi whispered as the fireball engulfed him.

"Not bad for a fire jutsu." Naruto said.

"But do you think he got Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Not a chance." Naruto replied with a smirk and on cue, Kakashi was nowhere to be found.

'Where is he?' Sasuke thought as he looked around for his sensei, and then he quickly ducked as Kakashi was behind and tried to hit him with a right roundhouse kick to the head.

'Good reflexes. Oh wait?! This isn't good at all!' Kakashi thought as he realized something.

"You're in my range!" Sasuke said with a grin and then unleashed a volley of punches at Kakashi who was forced to block.

'I was careless. I thought I could have had him with my Silent Lightning Technique which allows me to use lightning chakra to cloak myself and thus allowing me to move unnoticed. But in reality, it was part of his trap. He knew he couldn't close the distance but he knew I could close the distance. So in actuality, he anticipated that I would evade his previous technique and try to counter him at close-range!' Kakashi thought as he analyzed the string of events.

"Ryuu Senpuu (Dragon Hurricane)!" Sasuke yelled and jumped in the air and throws two spinning kicks at Kakashi who was able to block them.

"I'm not done yet! Dragon Cutter!" Sasuke yells and then brings his right leg down like an axe and strikes Kakashi upside the head with it.

"No way, Sasuke got Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said, surprised.

"No, he missed." Naruto countered. Sakura look confused for a second until Kakashi turned into a piece of log.

"Kawarini!" Sakura said in surprise.

"Shit, where is he?" Sasuke cursed angrily as he looked for his sensei.

"Behind you." Kakashi simply said as he reappeared behind the Uchiha and then connected with a kick to the ribs, knocking the boy away.

'Hmm, he was able to twist his body a bit in order to lessen the blow of my kick. Impressive' Kakashi thought as he saw his student get back up.

"Damn it all, I can't hit him." Sasuke said as he got up, grunting in pain from the kick.

"So far Sasuke, I'm not impressed. Your report said you were the best in Taijutsu in your entire class, even surpassing the Inukuza and Akimichi heirs, who both come from clans who possess tremendous aptitude for Taijutsu but it looks to me as if the reports which I am not surprised since the Uchihas were always better at ninjutsu than taijutsu." Kakashi explained.

"Don't get too comfortable, sensei. I was just warming up." Sasuke said with a smirk.

"Baka." Kakashi replied with a glare, surprising his student, "In the world of the shinobi, one doesn't have time to play around in combat. When two people fight, they usually fight to the death and in those situations, it's the one who strikes the quickest that wins. Playing around will only allow your opponent more time to live and also more time to adapt to your strategy until they find a way to kill you even though they should have been dead a long time ago." Kakashi explained.

"Fine, if you want me to go all serious then that's what I will do! Haiyakyakuu (Swift Leg)!" Sasuke said and then instantly reappeared behind Kakashi before anyone could register it.

"He's so fast now!" Sakura exclaimed.

"But what is that technique?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi turned around and prepared to block Sasuke's incoming left hook when the former disappeared again and reappeared in front of Kakashi and delivered a sweep kick. Fortunately, Kakashi was able flip away to avoid but as soon as he stood back up, Sasuke was right behind and threw a Ryuu Senpuu which Kakashi was able to block. Sasuke then puts one to the ground to keep from falling to the ground and then shot his left foot up to try to knock Kakashi in the air from under his chin but the jounin was able to back up slightly to avoid the blow.

"An opening!" Kakashi said as he then threw a right hook at Sasuke who jumped back to avoid the blow but then was stunned by an unknown force which then allowed Kakashi to knock him back about 5 meters with a roundhouse kick to the face.

'What the hell was that? It was as if I was shocked by some electric force or something.' Sasuke thought as he stood back up.

"That movement technique, did you create it all by yourself?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah I did." Sasuke replied.

"It's pretty impressive for someone from the academy. You basically stomp on the ground four times and use that momentum along with chakra activity to make you move that fast, as if you magically disappear, like shunshin no jutsu but faster." Kakashi said.

"It's definitely faster than my Kaze Shunshin No Jutsu, that's for sure." Naruto said.

"I knew Sasuke was good at Taijutsu but never this good." Sakura said.

"I always knew that. However, what I want to know is how Kakashi was able to paralyze Sasuke without even touching him." Naruto said.

"And that taijutsu, you trained with Maito Gai, haven't you?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes, and despite his freakish attitude and even freakier student, he is one hell of a teacher." Sasuke answered.

* * *

"Achoo!" Maito Gai sneezed while in the midst of training with his team.

"What's wrong, Gai-sensei?" Lee asked.

"Oh nothing, for some strange reasons, someone has mentioned me." Gai answered.

"Could it be that they are thanking you for influencing them with your flames of youth, sensei?" Lee asked, ecstatic.

"Of course, that is the only explanation. They were so touched by my flames of youth that they spoke my name as a way to thank me! You're such a genius, Lee, that's why you're my precious student!" Gai said, and then tears started to stream down from his face.

"GAI-SENSEI!" Lee said, also with tears streaming down his face.

"LEE!" Gai replied and then both teacher and student hugged each other as for some unbelievable reason, a sunset appeared in the background along with water waves.

"Why did we have to be stuck with these two morons?" Neji asked, embarrassed by the way the teacher and student were acting.

"Because someone hates us and wants us to suffer." Ten-Ten answered and they both sigh.

* * *

"This time, you're mine!" Sasuke said and then disappeared once more and then reappeared right in front of Kakashi, and before the latter could react, Sasuke fired a point-blank fireball at him, engulfing him.

"Great job burning up our sensei, Sasuke." Naruto said.

"Oops, maybe I did go a bit too overboard." Sasuke said, laughing nervously.

"Raiton: Raigaken (Lightning Release: Lightning Fang Fist)!" Kakashi as he was coming from above with his left fist engulfed in electricity. Sasuke was able to dodge it to his right and Kakashi ended up punching the ground, leaving a big hole.

"You're in my range again, sensei!" Sasuke said with a grin as he was about to hit Kakashi with a roundhouse kick only for Kakashi to bring his left fist upward from the ground and then smacked Sasuke in the face with a left hook uppercut, knocking the boy back about 8 meters.

"Thought you had me didn't you, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah, I could imagine you being a burned corpse by now. How the hell did you escape my fireball from point-blank range? I even used it in combination with Haiyakyakuu technique!" Sasuke asked, frustrated.

"It's simple really. I was able to read your seals while you were performing your high-speed technique and thus allowed me to react accordingly." Kakashi said.

"No way! You were able to actually keep up with both my sealing speed and movement speed?" Sasuke asked in disbelief.

"Precisely. It was not a bad tactic to be honest but if your opponent can read your seals then they can anticipate your technique and thus react accordingly." Kakashi said.

"That makes sense but one thing I need to ask. How were you able to paralyze me without even landing a blow on me in our previous exchange?" Sasuke asked.

"Because of my lightning chakra of course." Kakashi said as he emitted electricity around his right hand.

"Of course. Electricity can not only shock but also paralyze a person's body, rendering them immobile." Sakura said.

"And of course, I mask that electricity with my chakra in order to make it invisible to the human eye so that way you wouldn't notice my trick." Kakashi said.

"So you're not just a person with chronic tardiness huh, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said.

"Anyway," Kakashi said, ignoring Naruto's smart comment with great restraint, "You've passed this exam. You showed great capacity in becoming a genin and that is what I wanted to test. Now up next is Sakura-chan." Kakashi said.

"M…Me?" Sakura asked, nervous.

"I do believe we only have one Sakura in our team." Kakashi said.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan, you'll be just fine. I mean if Sasuke-baka here could go toe to toe then someone much smarter than him can easily do the same." Naruto said grinning as he knew he had earned a glare from the Uchiha heir.

'If Naruto-kun believes in me, then that means I can do it!' Sakura thought as she gained her resolve and then walked up to her sensei. Then, Kakashi jump back a couple of meters to put even more distance between them.

"Why did Kakashi just do that?" Sasuke asked.

"It's because Sakura is a genjutsu type shinobi. The maximum range for a genjutsu is about ten meters exact and so for Kakashi to avoid falling into one, he decided to stay out of that range. Right now, he's about 13 meters from Sakura." Naruto explained.

"But wait a minute, genjutsu is simply an illusionary technique that confuses the five senses right? So why the need for distance?" Sasuke asked.

"Because genjutsu requires the caster to emit chakra from their body into the opponent's body to take effect. By staying away from the caster, you have a higher chance of evading that chakra flow." Naruto explained.

"Ready, sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Kakashi replied, 'Hmm, no matter what genjutsu it is, she'll never be able to hit me with it. A genjutsu's maximum distance is ten meters at best and the distance between me and her is approximately fifteen meters.' Kakashi thought but then his eyes widened as Sakura dissolved into sakura petals and then he found himself in a forest full of sakura petals on the ground and sakura trees.

'What in the world? She got me with a genjutsu from that distance? But how?' Kakashi thought and he then tried to cancel the genjutsu but found himself stuck in it, 'I can't release the genjutsu?' Kakashi thought.

Suddenly, petals flew around him and started to cut him in the arms and legs. Kakashi tried to cancel the genjutsu again and again as he avoided the petals but found himself unable to do so.

'This genjutsu is unlike anything I have seen so far. Usually, the maximum range for a genjutsu is 10 meters at max and hence why I distanced myself to an exact distance of 15 meters. And also, I made sure not to look at her eyes in case it was an eye-induced genjutsu and made sure to watch out for anything that would reveal the genjutsu. I took all of the precautions and yet I was caught in her genjutsu and what's worse is that I can't release it.' Kakashi thought but then his eyes widened as he realized something

_Flashback:_

"_Ready, sensei?" Sakura asked._

"_Ready as I'll ever be." Kakashi replied_

_End Flashback_

'She caught me as soon as she said those words, that was the activation for her genjutsu!' Kakashi thought as he figured out what happened, 'Okay, let's review this. Her genjutsu is obviously longer than most genjutsus and she activated it via her voice. Also, this genjutsu can't be cancelled like any other genjutsu which means that in order to cancel it, I have to find the caster and weaken or defeat them. As we speak, she is probably hiding in a spot in order to attack my weak point and defeat me which means I have to fish her out now.' Kakashi thought and he then closed his eyes and electricity started to emit from his hands.

Not too far from Kakashi's location, Sakura was behind a tree as she was observing her sensei.

'He doesn't seem to be doing much in terms of movement but should I attack now? I could since I have the advantage but what if he has build up his defenses already? I could be walking right into a trap but if I don't do anything, he'll find me sooner or later. I have no choice, I have to attack.' Sakura thought and then started to silently walk from tree to tree and then transformed into a flurry of sharp petals that flew and surrounded Kakashi and kept cutting him. Then Sakura's right arm came out of the flurry of petals with a kunai in hand and pointed to Kakashi's neck.

"It's over, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said.

Suddenly, Kakashi then turned into a piece of log, surprising Sakura and before she knew it, Kakashi grabbed her arm and pulled it, effectively canceling her transformation, and then pointed a kunai to her throat.

"Cancel the genjutsu now or else." Kakashi warned her.

'Damn, I have no choice. He has the advantage now.' Sakura thought and then canceled the genjutsu.

"It looks Sakura-chan was able to hit Kakashi with a genjutsu from beyond the normal range." Naruto said.

"I wonder how though." Sasuke said.

"That genjutsu you used was incredible. Not many people used genjutsus of that nature, and the way you activate it was pretty clever and its range is also incredible." Kakashi said.

"Thank you sensei. However, how did you know I was going to attack?" Sakura asked.

"By using my Raikou Harigame (Lightning Wire)." Kakashi said.

"Lightning wire?" Sakura asked.

"I basically manipulated my lightning chakra and turned it into thin electric wires that are extremely hard to see via the naked eye. All a person has to do is slightly touch them and it will automatically warn me of an incoming enemy. You probably felt a small shock on your way to my location, right?" Kakashi asked.

"Come to think of it, I did but it was so miniscule that I paid no attention to it." Sakura said.

"And that small shock was my wire. I then placed a Kawarini trap and hid myself using my Musei Raikou No Jutsu until I had a clear shot at you." Kakashi explained.

"Okay then, let's try another tactic!" Sakura said.

"That's enough for now." Kakashi said, interrupting the girl.

'What do you mean? I barely did anything and I have so many other techniques to try. I mean, I studied all of those books for this test." Sakura said as she pulled out dozens of books from her book bag, causing the others to look at her wide-eyed.

"How many books do you own, Sakura?" Sasuke asked, flabbergasted.

"Hmm let's see, about 300?" Sakura answered.

"300?!" The others exclaimed.

"I know, it's not enough is it?" Sakura asked.

"It's more than enough!" The others exclaimed

"Anyway Sakura, your skills with that genjutsu showed me all I needed to know and the fact is that you have passed the first test as well." Kakashi said, "Up next is the smart-ass." Kakashi said as he now turned his attention to Namikaze Naruto.

"About time. By the way Sakura-chan, great job on the genjutsu." Naruto said to the girl as she was returning to her spot.

"Wish me luck guys." Naruto said and then walked toward Kakashi.

'Now, I finally get the chance to see what the son of sensei can do." Kakashi thought, with a hint of anticipation and pride as he saw the living legacy of his sensei in the flesh, 'If he is truly like sensei then he has used the bouts with his teammates as scouting reports on my abilities and formulated strategies to counter them.' Kakashi thought.

'Hatake Kakashi…despite being good at Taijutsu, he's a ninjutsu-type shinobi and with the jutsus he has used so far and also, he has strong defensive jutsus and offensive jutsus on top of that and what's worse is that I don't know his exact range. It seems I only have one course of action.' Naruto thought, and then did the seal for the Kage Bushin and created three clones

'Kage Bushin, huh? Kage Bushin is a jounin-level ninjutsu that has three purposes; 1.) To overpower the opponent with mass numbers. 2) to gather information on the opponent. 3) To use it as a diversion to create an opening. Now, let's see which way he goes.' Kakashi thought.

"Okay clones, let's do it!" Naruto said and he, along with the clones dispersed themselves. Suddenly, one of the clones dashed toward Kakashi.

"Ninpou: Kaze Yaiba (Ninja Art: Wind Blade)" the first clone yelled and then created a wind that came in the form of a sword and tried to slash Kakashi with it but Kakashi was able to dodge the hit.

"Raiton: Raigaken No Jutsu!" Kakashi yelled and then knocked the clone back about ten meters with an electric right punch to the gut, 'He's making his clones stay longer than usual.' Kakashi thought as the clone did not disappear.

""Fuuton: Kaze Ha Oshi No Jutsu! (Wind Element: Wind Wave Pressure)" The second clone said as he unleashed a blast of hot air at Kakashi with his left hand.

"Raiton: Raigaha No Jutsu (Lightning Release: Lightning Fang Wave Technique)!" Kakashi said and then swiped his right upwards and unleashed a wave of lightning that travel through the ground and cancelled the clone's technique.

"Fuuton: Shippu-Ha No Jutsu (Wind Release: Hurricane Wave Technique)!" The third Naruto clone yelled and then unleashed a hurricane from his right fist at Kakashi who jumped up in the air to avoid it.

'Now I've figured it out! He's a mid-range fighter. I used my Kage Bushin to test each possible range with a different jutsu and even though he was able to counter my close-range and mid-range attacks, he wasn't able to counter my last attack or rather, he couldn't effectively. Ninjutsu can be executed from any range but however, if they are executed away from their best range then they become much weaker and if he was long-range then he would have no problems pulling out a jutsu to counter my last jutsu at the distance between my clone and him which means he is not effective at long-range. And while he used a close-range jutsu to defend against my first clone, his strongest jutsu was the one he used against my second clone and thus proves he is a mid-range fighter at best. The problem is that I'm mid-range too and also he is stronger than me but I can still win.' Naruto thought.

"Okay clones, use whirlwind formation." Naruto said and the clones nodded. They then quickly started to move randomly around Kakashi at high speed while Naruto went through some seals.

'What is he planning with those clones?' Kakashi thought.

"Fuuton: Kaze Ha Oshi No Jutsu! (Wind Element: Wind Wave Pressure)" Naruto yelled and fired off his technique once again.

Kakashi tried to dodge it only to get kicked in the back by one of the clones.

'Now I see what he's trying to do. He recognized my best range as a mid-range type and he also recognizes that he is one as well but weaker than me. So, he's using those clones to keep me from moving, like a fence and also on my toes so I don't have time to use jutsus to counter while he keeps on attacking me from a safe distance. That's a sick way to fight someone.' Kakashi thought.

"It looks like Naruto may be able to win against sensei." Sasuke grinned.

"You think so?" Sakura asked.

"Raiton: Daichi Raikou Dageki No Jutsu (Lightning Release: Ground Lightning Shock Technique)!" Kakashi yelled as he then slammed his right hand onto the ground and unleashed electric waves that stunned Naruto and his clones. When Naruto finally regained his senses, he felt a kunai behind him.

"I win." Kakashi said behind Naruto.

"I wouldn't be so sure, sensei." Naruto said, from behind Kakashi as the one in front of Kakashi disappeared.

"Trust me kid, I'm sure." Kakashi said, from behind Naruto as the other Kakashi was also a clone.

"Let me guess, you created a clone while I disoriented from your attack and then used that clone to come up behind my clone while you hid with that cloaking technique of yours, right?" Naruto asked with a smirk.

"Yes I did though I am impressed with how fast you were able to create another clone. And also, that first exchange was a way to find my best range wasn't it so that way you knew how to attack me, right?" Kakashi asked.

"Exactly." Naruto said.

"Hmm, good enough. You have also passed the first test." Kakashi said, "Alright team, you've passed the first exam and now you must pass the second one. I call it the Bell Test." Kakashi said as he then took out two bells tied together.

'Bells?' The three genins exclaimed quizzically.

"Yep, bells. The objective for this test is to simply get the bells from me and you pass. "Kakashi said sternly.

"But Kakashi-sensei, there's only two bells? Doesn't that mean one of us will be will not pass?" Sakura asked.

"Of course. There one who did not get the bell will be sent to academy regardless of the fact that you passed the first test, understood?" Kakashi said sternly, causing the genins to gulp.

"Begin!" Kakashi says and all three genins hide into the forest.

'So they've hidden themselves, not bad. Now, if they can see underneath the underneath then they will truly be my team.' Kakashi thought.

"Well, in the meantime, let me start reading the masterpiece of all masterpieces." Kakashi said and then pulled an orange book from his pouch. He started to read it and giggle like a little girl.

* * *

"This test is ridiculous. He already knows we can't beat him even after throwing at him everything we could and yet he wants us to get the bells from us? And not only that but there are only two bells which means one of us will fail anyway. No, there has to be a point to this test or else he wouldn't have wasted his time with this, but what is it?" Naruto whispered as he racked his brain to come up with the answer while observing Kakashi.

"Damn it, if he only had a bigger brain than I...That's it!" Naruto said as he figured it out, and then left his position.

* * *

'It seems Naruto has it figured out.' Kakashi mentally noted as heard the genin move within the forest.

* * *

Naruto continued to move through the trees until he was able to find Sasuke.

"Sasuke, I need your help." Naruto said to the Uchiha.

"My help? For what?" Sasuke asked, confused that Naruto would need help.

"Listen, this test is about teamwork, not about individual skills!" Naruto said.

"Teamwork?" Sasuke repeated.

"Yes. Think about it, can we really beat him one on one? You saw what happened in the first test, we couldn't even hit him once? So why have us try again for some bells unless he wants for us to try to get the bells as a team." Naruto explained.

"I see, that makes sense. Alright, I'm in but we'll need Sakura's help as well." Sasuke said.

* * *

'He still hasn't shown any openings.' Sakura thought.

"Hey, Sakura." Naruto said behind her, startling the girl.

"Naruto-kun? Sasuke? What are you guys doing here? Shouldn't you be trying to get the bells?" Sakura asks.

"Sakura, listen to me. This test is about teamwork and we need to work together to get the bells." Naruto explains.

"But there's only two bells. Wouldn't one of us go back anyway?" Sakura asked.

"That's not the true purpose of this test. He's only testing us in order to see if we can work as a team. Why do you think we were put in teams of three? Because that is how it's always been." Naruto explains.

"Which means that the two bells are just a ploy to try and divide us and not make us see the true purpose behind his test." Sakura says, realizing what was going on.

"Yes, so thus we need to come up with a plan to beat this guy, and that's where you come in." Naruto said to Sakura.

"You want me to create a plan?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, I do. You're the smartest of us three and thus we need your intelligence to come up with a plan." Naruto asked.

"Alright then, here's the plan." Sakura grinned.

* * *

Kakashi continued to read his book until he saw Sasuke standing in front of him.

"Hmm, it looks like you're ready to try and take the bell from me, right Sasuke?" Kakashi said as he puts his book back into the pouch.

Sasuke then made some seals and then,

"Fuuton: Kaze Ha Oshi No Jutsu! (Wind Element: Wind Wave Pressure)" 'Sasuke' yelled out and shot a wind blast from his palm.

'A wind attack? But Sasuke isn't..." Kakashi said mentally as he avoided the wind attack, only to find himself bound to the cherry blossom tree once again.

'Sakura's genjutsu! KAI!' Kakashi thought and cancelled the genjutsu, only to find his bells missing and in the hands of Sasuke, with Sakura and the de-transformed Naruto next to him, all smirking.

"I see you guys figured out the concept behind this test. You should be proud, not many have in the past. But tell me something, who came up with the plan?" Kakashi asked.

"I did. I knew you wouldn't expect Sasuke to use a wind ninjutsu so I had Naruto transform into Sasuke to throw you off long enough to use my genjutsu on you, and by the time you would cancel it, Sasuke would be able to use his speed to dash in and get the bells from you." Sakura explained.

"Excellent plan, Sakura. As of now, we are officially Team 7. I want you guys to go get some rest because starting tomorrow, we're starting missions." Kakashi says.

"Yatta! We did it! **GOOD JOB!**" Sakura and Inner self said, while the two boys smirked.

"I have a feeling this team is going to be something special." Kakashi said as he and the rest of his team walked off the training grounds, as they were about to start on their new adventures.

To Be Continued...

* * *

AN: As always, read and review 


	4. The Mission to Wave

First of, I would like to thank my reviewers for reviewing my story. You guys are my encouragement for writing my story so keep reading and reviewing.

Author's Note: Naruto nor the characters of the story belong to me unfortunately and belong rather to Kishimoto Masashi. All I am doing is writing another version of his story according to my creative vision.

* * *

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 4: The Mission to Wave

* * *

"Ohayo, minna." Kakashi greeted his team, only to get beat up by his students.

"W...why?" Kakashi asked as he groaned in pain.

"THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR BEING THREE HOURS LATE!" The genins yelled angrily at their sensei.

Minutes later, Kakashi is back on his feet, recovered from his injuries

"Okay guys, today we are going to do our first mission." Kakashi said.

"Finally!" The three genins said.

"So sensei, what kind of mission is it?" Sakura asks.

"You'll see." Kakashi said.

* * *

The quiet of the Konoha forest was disturbed by the slight whisper of displaced air as Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura darted from tree to tree. All three genin wore a headpiece radio and were stalking an elusive foe. A short distance away, Kakashi sat in the mission command center, aka a clearing with a big rock he could sit on to read his porn, and contacted his subordinates.

"What's the distance to the target?" Kakashi asked.

"Five meters, I'm ready any time!" Sasuke said.

"Okay, GO!" Kakashi ordered.

All three genin ran from their hiding places to pounce on their target, which tried to get away. After scratching him many times, Sasuke was able to get the target.

"Ribbon on the left ear, are you sure this is the target, Tora?" asked Kakashi over the radio.

"Yeah, it's him or it better be!" growled Sasuke as he was pissed that he had to do this mission and so were the others.

"Good, Lost Pet 'Tora' Search Mission complete!" said Kakashi before he slipped his book back into its carrying pouch and appeared next to his students in a cloud of smoke for the walk back to Konoha.

* * *

Team seven could only stare at Tora in sympathy as the cat was hugged by its owner Madam Shijimi, the wife of the Fire Country Daimyo.

"Ohh, my cute little Tora-chan. I was so worried!" cooed the lady as she practically strangled the cat.

'No wonder it ran away,' the genins all thought

"Okay for your next mission, you are to go and baby-sit an elder's grandson, shopping in the neighboring village, and help with the potato digging," Iruka said.

"You're serious?" Naruto said.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" Iruka asked.

"Oh no, nothing it's wrong. It's just that you know we as shinobis should be taking on more serious matters as hunting down traitors, helping protect someone. I mean, it wouldn't bode so well for Konoha if they make their genins do plant work and chores I mean unless now you can hurt people or kill them using chores and gardening or even create techniques from them." Naruto said.

"Naruto, stop being such a smart-ass for once." Iruka said.

"I agree with Naruto. I mean, we're shinobis not butlers or nannies. We need tougher missions than that." Sasuke said.

"Naruto, Sasuke, listen to me. These missions are perfectly designed genins like you." Iruka argued.

"That's ridiculous. We're shinobis, not servants, and as shinobis, we protect and defend our village and kill our enemies, not doing remedial chores." Naruto barked back.

"Listen Naruto. These types of missions are there to instill maturity in genins, and help you learn how to work as a team. Also, these missions are ranked by skill and D-class missions are perfect for genins since you are not experienced as well as chuunins or jounins, who take higher-level missions." The Hokage explained.

"I understand your reasoning on this and I don't disagree, all I'm saying is that we already proved that we can work flawlessly as a team during Kakashi's bell test and our reports show that our skills are more than enough for taking higher missions. All I'm asking is that you give us another type of mission so we can prove ourselves as shinobis, and babysitting will not prove it." Naruto said, as he was now facing the Hokage face to face with a very serious look.

"He's right you know and to be honest, I never liked the whole system much. It can deter someone's growth with ease and also, they have to learn the true workings of the life of shinobi early so they can advance further." Kakashi said.

The Hokage sighed as he realized he was defeated and then started to look at the stack of papers until he pulled one out.

"Alright, Kakashi, I will give you a chance for your team to prove yourself with this c-rank mission." Hokage said, and Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto all smiled as they now had their chance to prove themselves.

"It's a protection mission for a certain individual. " The Hokage said to the shinobis and then turned his head to the door, "You can come in now." He said, and thickset older man wearing a large backpack with a towel around his neck and a bottle of some alcoholic beverage in his hand enters.

"Oh great, now we can get to protect an alcoholic. That's the way to help out genins, help them protect them someone who drinks a lot so that way they can become alcoholics as well." Naruto said.

"This is the protection I'm going to get? Huh, like some brats are going to protect me, especially the short one." The man said.

"Looks who's talking. You're the one who comes here smelling like piss, ass and alcohol. I may be short but at least I don't smell like garbage. And on top of that, you're holding a bottle of sake and drinking it in front of three twelve-year olds. Hokage-sama, if we're going to protect this man then you might as well put us down as future alcoholics." Naruto said.

"I'm not an alcoholic, I'm super expert bridge builder Tazuna and will be expecting you to provide me super protection until I get back to my country and complete the bridge." The old man yelled.

"I swore I heard someone say something." Naruto said as if he did not know who said what.

"Damn that kid, life isn't fair." Tazuna said as he was crying in the corner.

"It's alright Tazuna-san, you're not the only one he's done this." Iruka said, comforting the bridge builder.

'Victim number 512. Damn I'm just too good.' Naruto thought as he grinned.

'He's even worse than sensei.' Kakashi thought, "Alright, team, I expect everyone to be outside the gates by noon and bring all your ninja equipment." Kakashi said before poofing away.

* * *

"As ridiculous as this sound, I'm quite excited that we're leaving the village." Naruto said as he looked at his surroundings as they were standing near the gate.

"Is this your first time outside the village?" Tazuna asked.

"Yes it is, and that's why I'm excited about it, and also the mission." Naruto explained.

"Glad to see everyone is here." Kakashi said as he arrived.

"Holy crap you're on time! Who the hell are you and what have you done with Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Can't you just stop for once?" Kakashi begged.

"Nope." Naruto replied with a smirk.

"Let's just get going everyone." Kakashi said, depressed and everyone started to walk toward their way to Wave.

* * *

"Hmm, Tazuna-san, may I ask you a question?" Sakura asked the bridge builder

"Yes, what is it?" Tazuna replied.

"You're from Wave, right?" Sakura asks.

"Yeah, so?" The bridge builder answered.

"Hmm, Kakashi-sensei. Are there ninjas in Wave?" Sakura asked her sensei.

"No, there are no ninjas in Wave, but there are in most other countries. The culture and customs may be different but most countries do have hidden villages and ninjas." Kakashi said, answering the girl's question.

"To the many countries of the continent, the existence of a hidden village means military power. This is how they hold and maintain advantages on each other. But it's not that the villages rule the countries, they merely stand equal with the country's government. A small island country like the Wave Country doesn't receive much interference from the other countries and does not require a shinobi village. Within the many Shinobi Villages like Mist, Leaf, Cloud, Sand, and Stone are large and powerful and thus are referred to as the Great Five Shinobi Countries. And thus, these are the only countries whose leaders are referred to as Kages. The Five Kages are Hokage, Mizukage, Kazekage, Tsuchikage, and Raikage, and they reign over thousands of shinobis in the world." Kakashi explained to the others.

'Wow, so it looks like Naruto-kun's dream is much bigger than he lets on.' Sakura thought as she looked at the blonde.

"And also, the Kages are the strongest ninjas of their village and have no equal." Naruto added and if one truly noticed it, they would have heard a hint of pride in his voice.

"However, all this doesn't really matter for this mission since this is a C-rank mission and thus there aren't going to be any ninjas to face." Kakashi said.

"Are you serious? Damn that sucks. I won't be able to test my skills then." Sasuke said, clearly pissed.

'I wouldn't be too sure about that, Sasuke.' Naruto thought as he noticed the look on Tazuna's face when Kakashi said that there weren't going to be any ninjas after them.

As they continued to walk, they passed by a puddle to which Kakashi and Naruto noticed.

"A puddle in the middle of a dry road? Are you guys fucking stupid or what?" Naruto yelled out.

"You're fucking dead, kid!" Two voices yelled.

Then, a ninja wearing a breathing mask, dressed in all black with a headband of the Mist Village and a large metal gauntlet on each arm with a chain connecting them both, surfaced from the water and then another one leapt from a tree and then they both headed toward Kakashi and ripped him to pieces in an instant with their chains.

"One down..." The bigger one said.

"Two to go!" The smaller said, finishing the other's sentence and then headed for the genins and Tazuna when suddenly, they found themselves in a field of flower petals.

"A genjutsu!" The two said as they got cancelled the genjutsu.

They try to locate the group when suddenly Sasuke is seen in the air and tosses a kunai at them, pinning their chains to the tree behind them. Sasuke then disappears and reappears slightly above the brothers, and delivers a double Ryuu Senpuu, hitting the brothers in the face and knocking back to the tree. Both brothers recover and disengage their chains, taking the young boy by surprise, and rush toward him with the intent to kill him when Kakashi suddenly appears and takes them out by clotheslining them.

"I could have handled it myself, Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke fumed.

"Yeah, you could but I couldn't let you guys have all the fun. By the way Sakura, nice job with the genjutsu." Kakashi said, praising the blond.

"Thank you sensei." Sakura grinned.

"So you were able to read our movements and hence why you guys planned to fool us? How?" The two ninjas asked.

"Simple, it was the puddle. Like Naruto yelled out, it hasn't rained for many days, yet why is there a puddle in the middle of the road? That led to us figuring out that we were going to be ambushed. Naruto noticed it as well and quickly communicated with his teammate to make a plan and then used that smart-mouth of his to provoke you guys off into attacking us." Kakashi explained.

"But even if the genins could take care of themselves, why didn't you just take care of them yourself like you just did?" Tazuna asked.

"You're right, I could have ended it instantly but there was something I needed to find out. I need to find out who or what were they after to begin with." Kakashi explained.

"What do you mean?" Tazuna asked.

"Meaning, where they after you or one of us?" Kakashi began to say and then continues, "Our mission was to simply protect you from thieves and gangs. We haven't heard that shinobis are after you. Our mission was to protect you until you completed your bridge but now, this has become a B-rank mission." Kakashi explained.

Tazuna remained quiet as he knew he had lied about the mission so Kakashi continued.

"If it was known that ninjas were after you, this mission would have been set as the more expensive B-rank mission. I'm sure you had a reason but lying about a mission causes difficult problems, and we are now operating outside the rules." Kakashi explained.

"I lied because my country is super poor, and if I told you about the ninjas then this mission would have become too expensive for me to pay. If you guys want to return, that's fine by me. I guess this is what I deserve for causing so much trouble." Tazuna said as he felt ashamed of what he did, but then Naruto started to chuckle, startling everyone.

"There's no way in hell we're going back just because you lied, drunky. Besides, this mission looks more and more interesting." Naruto smiled.

"Naruto! This isn't a game, there's a risk we might face tougher opponents out there." Kakashi countered.

"I knew that there was a possibility like this but that's exactly why I want a higher-ranked mission, so I can prove myself. Also, as a future Hokage, I can't let an innocent man's dream go down the drain just because of unknown dangers, even though he is a smelly alcoholic and liar." Naruto said firmly.

'Did he really have to insult me?' Tazuna thought with a sweat drop behind his head.

"Besides, I know how to heal wounds and I can easily help with the injuries in case we get wounded." Sakura added.

"C'mon, sensei. Gives us a chance, we did prove ourselves so far in this mission and going back now would make us look like cowards and if there's one thing I'm not, it's a coward." Sasuke said, finishing the genins' opposition to their sensei.

"Okay okay. We'll finish this mission." Kakashi sighed, 'Why are these genins so stubborn?' he then added mentally.

"Thank you very much, all of you." Tazuna said politely.

"Like we said, we're not going to let you down, old man." Naruto said.

'That kid, for some reason, I can sense that there is more to him than just his smart mouth.' Tazuna thought as he looked at the blond genin.

'Definitely like his father.' Kakashi said mentally before he started to walk, with the others behind him.

"About this mission, you're right, this job is outside your duties but I need to tell you that super dangerous man is after my life." Tazuna said.

"Super dangerous man? Who?" Kakashi asks

"You probably heard his name before." Tazuna said as he sighed before continuing, "The wealthy shipping magnate, a man named Gatou." Tazuna revealed.

"Huh? Gatou? From that Gatou Company? He is said to be one of the world's few extremely wealthy people." Kakashi says, shocked that a man this wealthy would be involved in this mission.

"Yes...he officially runs a large shipping company...But secretly sells illegal drugs and other items using ninjas and gang members to take over businesses and countries. He's a very nasty man. It was about a year ago when he set his sight on Wave Country. Through money and violence, he quickly took control of the country's shipping industries. Gatou now has a monopoly on all business traffic in the country. The only thing he has to fear is the completion of the bridge." Tazuna explained.

"So I guess this is why Gatou is sending these ninjas after you. To try and stop you from building that bridge." Sakura says.

"Oh well, we already accepted that we are going to protect you until you complete your bridge and that's that." Kakashi says.

"Thank you." Tazuna nodded, and then the group resumed their way toward Wave.

* * *

An hour later, the group is heading toward Wave in a boat that is being rowed by a man wearing a straw triangular hat like Tazuna.

"So that's the bridge, huh? No wonder he wants you want it completed." Naruto said as he and the others marveled at the nearly completed bridge.

"Tazuna, it looks like we've avoided detection so far but just in case, we'll take the route that vegetation. It will make harder for them to stop us." The man says.

"Thanks." Tazuna said.

The boat goes through a tunnel and then stops at the dock. Tazuna and Team 7 get off the boat and wave good-bye to the man who helped them get here before continuing on their way through the forest.

* * *

While in the forest, Naruto throws a shuriken at one of the bushes, surprising everyone

"Why did you do that for, Naruto?" Sasuke asks.

"I thought I heard something. Sorry." Naruto said.

"Hmm, let me check just to be sure." Kakashi said as he knew Naruto wouldn't try to do something as reckless or stupid as blindly throwing a shuriken.

He walks up to the bushes and sees that the shuriken struck a snow-white rabbit right in the head.

"Wait a minute? Why is that rabbit's skin so white when it's spring? The skin of rabbits are always brown in the spring, not white" Sakura asked as they noticed the rabbit's snow white skin and read about them in one of her books.

"That's because the enemy was keeping it in a cage to use it for body switching. Which means the enemy is already here. Everyone, be on your guard." Kakashi added to Sakura's observation.

Suddenly, a huge sword is seen flying toward Kakashi and the others, who fortunately were able to duck it. The sword ends up stuck on a tree and right on top of it was the masked man with gray pants and white/black armguards and shinguards and a mist headband.

"Hmm. Well if isn't the Hidden Mist's missing-nin, Momoichi Zabuza." Kakashi said as he revealed the figure's personality, "Alright guys, I want all of you to stay back, he's on a whole different level compared to the others.." Kakashi told his team.

"And you are Hatake "The Lightning Fang" Kakashi. Sorry, but the old man is mine." Zabuza said.

"Lightning Fang?" The genins exclaimed.

"You kids didn't know? Your sensei here was an upper A-class shinobi in our bingo book during my time as ANBU in the Mist." Zabuza said.

"So our sensei is actually a badass." Sasuke smirked.

"And here I thought you only had chronic tardiness. But wait, you have chronic tardiness and yet you have a reputation as a badass which can only mean one thing; Kakashi-sensei, you're a living conundrum." Naruto said.

'Why couldn't he be more like Kushina?' Kakashi thought.

"Ninpou: Kirigakure No Jutsu (Ninja Arts: Silent Mist Technique)." Zabuza said, and then the whole field was engulfed in a very thick mist.

"What's going on? This mist is so thick!" Sakura said.

"This isn't good at all. This technique is specialized for silent killing, which Zabuza was an expert of. You won't even know you're dead until you are. You guys better be careful." Kakashi explains, alerting them of a possible attack.

"The mist is getting thicker." Naruto said as he noticed it getting thicker.

"8 choices..." Zabuza started to say.

"Where the hell is he?" Sasuke asked as he was getting more and more nervous.

"Liver, Lungs, Spine, Clavical Vein, Neck, brain, kidneys, heart. Which one should I go after?" Zabuza asked.

Kakashi then made a seal and emitted some of his chakra in order to clear out the mist. As soon as he did, they were all hit by an intense killing intent.

'This killing intent, it's even worse than those of the villagers. It's the killing intent of a man who truly wants to kill for the simple pleasure of it and is fully capable of.' Naruto thought.

"Don't worry, Naruto. I won't let any of my comrades die before I do." Kakashi said as he tried to reassure the young man.

Then, Zabuza appeared in between the genins and Tazuna.

"It's that so?" Zabuza said, shocking the genins and Tazuna. He swings his sword but before his sword could come down and kill the genins and Tazuna, his hand was held by back by Kakashi's right hand and with his left hand, Kakashi put a kunai near Zabuza's neck.

"Don't move." Kakashi said.

"Now I understand. You left a clone behind to fool me by saying those words while meanwhile, you were hiding waiting for an opening." Zabuza said.

"And it wasn't so hard to do considering I had used my Raikou Harigame (Lightning Wires ) to track you down." Kakashi said.

"Not bad." Zabuza said but then smirked before turning into water.

'Mizu Bushin!' Kakashi thought.

Kakashi quickly evaded to his left as Zabuza swung his sword down and struck the ground. Zabuza then brought his sword back up and swung again but this time, Kakashi blocked it with some sort of fang blade in the form of lightning.

"A chakra fang made of lightning…Must be a type of chakra specialization. I'm impressed that it's that durable." Zabuza said and then kicked Kakashi in the stomach, knocking him back about 6 meters with his right foot.

"Kakashi-sensei!" The genins exclaimed as they saw their sensei being knocked back.

"I'm okay. You guys just stay away from the mist and protect Tazuna-san at all costs! Meanwhile, I'm going to take this guy down." Kakashi said as he stood back up. The genins nodded and got as far as the mist as possible.

"Take me down? And how are you going to do that?" Zabuza asked.

"By doing this…Ninjutsu Tokushitsu (Ninjutsu Specialization): Raikou Ookami (Lightning Wolf)!" Kakashi said and then performed a series of seals and then his hands were covered in silver gauntlets and his foot in silver grieves.

"Wolf Edge!" Kakashi yelled as he leaped into the air, performed an overhead kick with his right leg and unleashed a powerful silver air blade that headed for Zabuza but Zabuza was able to dodge it only for Kakashi to dash straight for him and throw a right straight. Zabuza blocked the attack but then Kakashi discharged electricity from his fist and knocked Zabuza about ten meters back.

"So that's your ninjutsu specialization huh, Kakashi? Well then, let me show you mine." Zabuza said and then did a number of seals before putting his left hand on his blade which then radiated with chakra, "Awaken, Kiri Keiri (Mist Executioner)." Zabuza said, and then the chakra surrounding the sword was absorbed into the sword.

'The sword didn't change shape so what did it do?' Kakashi asked.

"It's no time to stare Kakashi!" Zabuza yelled and then swung his sword as wide as he could and then suddenly, a large explosion was made as trees fell down. When the smoke cleared, there was a huge trail on the ground, about 5 meters wide and Kakashi was on the ground with blood on his arms and legs.

"You're got lucky Kakashi but the next slash will be the end for you." Zabuza said.

"Even if you do kill me, my team is already way gone by now." Kakashi said as he got slowly got back up, 'That sword of his, it was able to emit such level of chakra…could that be its ability?' Kakashi thought.

"That would be true if it wasn't for the fact that I'm not alone. In fact, my partner should be killing them by now." Zabuza said with a smirk.

* * *

"Man this sucks. We're standing here doing nothing while Kakashi-sensei is getting all the action!" Sasuke said fuming.

"Are you insane? Didn't you hear the large explosion just a few minutes ago? If it wasn't for Kakashi's warnings, we might have been caught in that." Sakura said.

"She's right you know and besides, they're way out of our league. This battle is pure jounin-level." Naruto replied.

"It looks like Zabuza-san is fighting someone tough." An unknown voice said and our genins and Tazuna turned around and saw someone with dark blue hair, a wolf oni mask, gray vest, white shirt, gray pants, black fingerless gloves, and sandals standing about 3 meters behind them.

"Who the hell are you?" Sasuke asked.

"Me? I'm just someone who wants to play." The person said and from their voice, the person was identified as a boy. He then disappeared and reappeared behind Tazuna with his katana drawn out, "You're dead, old man." The boy said as he was about to slash through Tazuna only to find himself surrounded by petals.

"A genjutsu?" The boy said and quickly cancelled out of the genjutsu and saw that his target was in the hands of the genins who moved about 5 meters away from the boy.

"Nice genjutsu." The boy said.

"So you must be with Zabuza, right?" Sakura asked.

"Of course I am though you should be less worried about who I'm with and be more worried about how you're going to survive against me. From the last event, I can easily deduce that only one of you can keep up with me one hundred percent of the time In fact, the only reason why one of you was able to land a genjutsu on me was because that person and they must have warn you when I was about to reappear so that you could use the genjutsu. The boy said.

'He's right. That speed of his was so great that it was only thanks to Sasuke that we were able to locate him behind Tazuna-san and also our quick teamwork that allowed us to save Tazuna.' Naruto thought as he gritted his teeth.

"Since it looks like I have to get through you guys, let's get started!" The boy said and then disappeared and was behind the genins and in front of Tazuna. The boy then decapitated Tazuna only for the latter to turn into a cloud of smoke.

"Katon: Goukyuakuu No Jutsu!" Sasuke said and then unleashed his fireball right at the boy who instantly moved out of the way and reappeared about 5 meters from the team.

"You've hidden the old man as soon as you performed the genjutsu, didn't you?" The boy said in an angry tone.

"Of course we did. Our priority is to protect Tazuna-san and the best way to do so against an opponent like you is to hide him somewhere safe and take you out first." Naruto answered with a smirk.

"Hey Naruto, let me handle him." Sasuke said.

"Are you crazy, Sasuke? This guy is way faster than any of us. We need to work as a team!" Naruto objected.

"Naruto-kun is right and besides, we outnumber him three to one. Let's use that fact to our advantage." Sakura added on.

"I know but listen. During our first exchange, I was the only one able to keep up with him for the most part hence how I was able to warn the two of you and thus set up that genjutsu, remember? What I'm saying is for you two to let me go at him one on one and when there is a clear opening, hit him with everything you've got." Sasuke said.

"That would be more effective if we try your way. Okay Sasuke, we're counting on you." Naruto said.

Sasuke smirked and then walked up to the boy and stood about 3 meters from him and then got into his fighting stance.

"Oro? You're going to fight me one-on-one? You must be crazy. Just because you can see me doesn't mean you can fight at the same level of speed as I can." The boy said.

"Crazy I am then but enough of this talking, let's get right down to the main course!" Sasuke said and then performed his Haiyakyaku technique to disappear.

'He's fast.' The boy said as he then located Sasuke in mid-air.

"Dragon Cutter!" Sasuke yelled as he then came down on the boy with his split kick but the boy countered by raising his left leg upwards and stopping Sasuke. The boy then reappeared behind Sasuke and drew out his sword and swung it at Sasuke who then turned into a log.

'A substitution!' The boy said.

"Fuuton: Kaze Ha Oshi No Jutsu! (Wind Element: Wind Wave Pressure)" Naruto yelled and unleashed his shot of wind from his right hand at the boy who then disappeared to avoid the blast.

"Ryuu Senpuu!" Sasuke yelled as he was behind the boy and before the latter could react, he was knocked back by Sasuke's kick.

'Damn it, so they're using two fronts to attack me: That boy has the close-range front and then the other two behind as the mid-long range front. If I avoid the former, I get attacked by the latter and vice-versa. And because he can keep up with my speed, he can easily alert the other two in case of an attack. Che, guess I have no choice but to use that technique.' The boy thought

"Okay boys and girls, it's time for me to take you guys seriously." The boy said.

"Take us seriously." The three genins said.

"Yep and I'll do so with this technique that I like to call Shunchi (Flash earth), which goes like this." The boy said and then in an instant was besides Sasuke, "What are you looking at?" The boy said and it was then that Sasuke and the others realized he had moved.

'He moved? When?' Sasuke thought.

"One down," The boy began to say and then a slash across Sasuke's chest appeared, drawing out blood, "Two to go." The boy finished as Sasuke fell to the ground unconscious.

"SASUKE!" Sakura yelled as she saw her fallen teammate.

"We're doomed!" Tazuna said.

'He looks like he's the same age as us and yet, his fighting level is just so much higher than ours.' Naruto thought as he was trembling.

'That was Sakura's voice. Did his partner already get to Sasuke? If that's so then I must finish this now!' Kakashi thought.

* * *

"Dragon Cannon!" Zabuza thought as he spun his sword and then thrust his sword forward and unleashed a dragon-headed chakra wave at Kakashi.

Kakashi saw the wave coming and ran toward it and kicked his right foot upward to counter the dragon wave and was able to kick it upward and away from him.

'He deflected my Dragon Cannon?' Zabuza thought with a shocked look on his face.

"Raikou Kami Ken (Lightning God Fist)!" Kakashi yelled as he then dashed toward Zabuza and punched him with his right fist, electrocuting him.

Zabuza then fell down on his knees and began to pant heavily.

"Still alive after taking such an attack, huh? It seems I'll have to finish you off another way." Kakashi said as he then did a number of seals and then generated a huge amount of electric chakra in his right hand.

'Such much chakra.' Zabuza thought as he slowly got back up.

"Raikiri (Lightning Blade)!" Kakashi yelled and was about to thrust his attack when suddenly, Zabuza was received two needles in the neck.

"What in the world?" Kakashi said as he stopped his attack as he was surprised at what just happened.

Suddenly, a person with two long braids framing the side of their face and their hair tied up under a small cap and wearing a white mask with red stripes appeared next to Zabuza.

"Sorry but I cannot allow you to kill him." The person said and from their voice, they sounded like a girl, and before Kakashi could do anything, she grabbed Zabuza and disappeared.

'Damn it, he got away.' Kakashi thought as he fell on his knees, panting heavily.

* * *

"Now, time to finish you guys off." The boy said as he walked up to Naruto and the others when he suddenly stopped as the girl who had grabbed Zabuza reappeared next to the boy.

"Zabuza lost. It's time for us to retreat." The girl said.

"Oh really? Oh well, see you guys later." The boy said to our heroes as he and the girl then disappeared.

"Are you guys alright?" Kakashi asked as he arrived on the scene.

"Only Sasuke got injured but it's not a fatal wound. What about you Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"I'll be alright and besides, I've taken worse than this. Right now, our first priority is get to Tazuna's place so we can rest and then regroup on how to handle these three because something tells me a even fiercer battle is about to take place." Kakashi said.

To Be Continued…

AN

Kiri Keiri (Mist Executioner): Kirikagure ninjas thus have developed swords that have their own chakra systems that can be awakened by their user. Zabuza's sword have the ability to unleash powerful chakra waves.

As always, read and review and I hope you like my changes.


	5. For the sake of dreams

Author's Note: Naruto nor the characters of the story belong to me unfortunately and belong rather to Kishimoto Masashi. All I am doing is writing another version of his story according to my creative vision.

* * *

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 5: For the sake of dreams.

* * *

"_If you want to kill me foolish little brother…then hate me! Curse me! And live a long and unsightly life. Run away…Run away and cling to your foolish life.' _

"AHHHH!" Sasuke yelled as he woke up. He looked around and found himself half-naked in a room with bandages across his chest.

"Why do I have…?" Sasuke began to ask but then flashes of his fight against that boy and the attack he suffered rushed back in his mind, "Oh yeah, that." Sasuke said as he rubbed his forehead with his right hand.

"I see you're finally awake, Sasuke." Sakura said as she, the rest of the team, Tazuna, and his beautiful daughter Tsunami entered the room.

"How long was I out for?" Sasuke asked.

"Not long actually. You were able to recover from your wound faster than I expected." Sakura answered.

"And where are we and what happened to that kid and that Zabuza guy?" Sasuke asked.

"This is the home of Tazuna and Zabuza was able to escape thanks to his third partner who knocked him unconscious with acupuncture needles right before I was going to kill him, and then escaped with him and the boy followed suit according to Naruto." Kakashi explained.

"I see. I guess we got lucky somehow." Sasuke said.

"You got that right. According to Naruto, that boy was on a whole other level compared to you guys." Kakashi said.

"We'll definitely need to do some serious training if we hope to complete this mission right, sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Right you are. Sasuke, do you feel ready to do some training?" Kakashi asked.

"Whenever you're ready." Sasuke replied with a smirk.

"Matte (Wait). You guys just got here, shouldn't you be resting before training?" Tsunami asked.

"Listen and listen well Tsunami-chan. The man that is after your father's life is Momoichi Zabuza, the devil of Kirikagure and a missing-nin. He will stop at nothing to kill him and his family which includes you and trust me when I say that he is more than capable of doing so. In fact, they said that when he was just a child, he committed a horrible crime. Back then, the Mist was known as the Bloody Mist and thus they had students fight each other to the death to determine if they graduated or not. Yet he, who was not even a student, came in and slaughtered every student and in fact, it was because of him that the Mist banned such graduation tests." Kakashi explained.

"Woah." Was all Sasuke could say as they were in shock from hearing that.

"And with the fact that he has two other partners, one who is much faster than my students and is strong, and the other whose abilities are unknown, this makes this mission much more dangerous and why it is urgent for us to train immediately." Kakashi said sternly.

"Then what are waiting, Kakashi-sensei? Let's get this training started." Naruto said with a smirk.

"Alright team 7, follow me to the forest." Kakashi said and he along with his team walked out of the room.

* * *

Not too far from where Kakashi and Zabuza fought, Zabuza's accomplishes had laid Zabuza's body on the clearing.

"Man, Zabuza-san sure got his ass kicked." The dark blue-haired boy snickered.

"Do not speak like that of Zabuza-san." The girl said reprimanded her partner. It then got an equipment pouch and pulled out a small scissor, and was about to cut Zabuza's mouth cloth when the latter caught the arm of the hunter-nin.

"That's alright, Haku. I'll do it myself." Zabuza said as he ripped his mouth cloth opened.

"Oh, and the great Zabuza has returned from the dead!" The blue-haired boy exclaimed.

"Shut it, Shinji, and you're way too rough with those needles, Haku." Zabuza said as he reprimanded both kids.

"You shouldn't pull it out like that or else you'll really die!" Haku said.

"How long are both of you are going to wear those stupid masks?" Zabuza growled, and both kids chuckled before taking them out. Shinji had hazel eyes and looked about 16 while Haku was a beautiful girl with brown eyes.

"What's wrong with them? Besides, it reminded us of the good old days." Shinji grinned.

"If I hadn't saved you then you would have definitely gotten killed." Haku explained.

"Yeah but did you have to hit me in the neck. You could have aimed somewhere else. Oh, well, I guess you're annoying as ever." Zabuza said to Haku.

"I guess you're right but I did that so that way I wouldn't scar you. You shouldn't be able to move for a week though." Haku replied with a smile.

"No worries, you basically helped me escape from death." Zabuza said.

"Are we going to fight them again?" Shinji asked with a grin.

"Of course we are and this time, I will kill Kakashi." Zabuza said.

* * *

"Now, have any of you learn tree climbing yet?" Kakashi asked.

"Tree climbing?" Sasuke asked.

"It's the exercise where you climb a tree with your feet using chakra as support, right sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Right you are Sakura-chan." Kakashi replied.

"Oh that? I already learned that." Sasuke said.

"Me too." Naruto said nonchalantly.

"Me three." Sakura said.

"Oh really? Why don't you guys then show me how it's done?" Kakashi asked as he did not believe them.

The trio shrugged and then each took a tree and ran all the way to the top in matter of seconds.

"Done!" The trio all said.

"Good, now we can get to the juicy stuff." Kakashi said.

"What juicy stuff?" Naruto asked.

"The reason why I had asked you about tree climbing is because that exercise is a great way to learn chakra control. You see, chakra is an energy that comes from the mixture of physical stamina and strength and spiritual energy. While it is mostly used via jutsus, it can also be used to create specializations." Kakashi said.

"Specializations?" The trio asked simultaneously.

"The key to becoming a great shinobis is to specialize your jutsus. Whether you are primarily a taijutsu, ninjutsu or genjutsu type, what separates the weak from the strong is how they specialize in those types of jutsus. Specialization takes a lot of practice but once mastered, it becomes a useful tool for all shinobis. For example, this is my specialization." Kakashi said and then began to harness his electric chakra around his arms and legs.

"Raikou Ookami (Lightning Wolf)" Kakashi said and then the electric chakra turned into silver grieves and gauntlets that had electric sparks around them.

"Amazing. You were able to do that with your lightning-type chakra?" Naruto asked.

"Yep. This is my specialization of my lightning chakra because it now allows me to perform lightning technique with almost no seals at all and deliver massive damage to my opponents." Kakashi said.

"I see. So you mean that we can take one justu, element, or fighting style and specialize around it like you did?" Naruto asked.

"Yep and that will tremendously help you become much stronger because it will be your unique take on a specific technique." Kakashi said with a grin.

"That sounds cool as hell. So, do we get started now?" Sasuke asked.

"Yep. Just don't forget to come back to the house and eat now. See you later." Kakashi said and then disappeared.

"Alright guys, it's best if we separate so we can train better, agreed?" Naruto asked.

"Yep." Both Sasuke and Sakura said and then all three scattered around to get started on their training.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zabuza was resting in a bed in a huge hut-looking house with Haku looking after him and Shinji slumped on a chair when suddenly, Gatou and two samurai bodyguards named Waraji and Zouri entered the place.

"Ke, it looks like even you have come back defeated, and I thought Mist ninja were supposed to be the best. You couldn't even avenge your own men and you call yourself the devil of the hidden mist." Gatou gloated as he walked toward Zabuza.

"Come on, Zabuza. No need to stay silent." Gatou said as he reached his hand for Zabuza only for his hand to be gripped by Haku, who glared at him.

"Don't you dare touch him!" Haku growled at the businessman.

"Why you stupid bitch!" Both bodyguards growled and were about to attack her with their swords when suddenly, Shinji was right in front of them with his katana pointing at them both before they could even register it.

"I suggest you never call Haku-chan that word again or I will cut you to a number of pieces humanely impossible, and why don't you guys just leave us anyway? It's not like Zabuza-san wants to talk to you anyway." Shinji glared at Gatou and his men.

"Okay, you win this time but I'm giving only one more chance! If you fail me again, then you can kiss your paycheck good-bye!" Gatou said as he nursed his wrist and he and his bodyguards left the room.

"You two didn't have to do that." Zabuza said as he had a kunai hidden underneath his covers.

"Yeah but we wanted to scare the shit out of them, not kill him and besides, it's more fun that way." Shinji grinned.

"Also, we can't kill him now or else we would be on the run, again." Haku said sadly.

"Yeah, you guys are right" Zabuza said and closed his eyes to rest some more

* * *

For several days now, the genins have been training in order to create their specializations. Naruto was practicing his wind jutsus when suddenly, Shinji and Haku walk into the clearing.

"Man, you sure are working hard out here." Shinji whistled as he was dressed without his dark blue coat, and with a black shirt and black pants that had dragons on them. He was with Haku, who was wearing a pink yukata instead of her usual battle attire.

"Who are you two?" Naruto asked.

"My name is Sanada Shinji, and this is Haku, what about you?" Shinji asked with a grin.

"My name is Namikaze Naruto. Anyway, what are you guys doing here?" Naruto asked.

"What are you guys doing here?' Naruto asked with a frown on his face.

"We were just going around, picking up herbs." Haku replied as she smiled at the boy.

"Herbs for Zabuza I presume?" Naruto asked with a smirk as he knew he had uncovered both their true identities which caused the duo to grit their teeth and get into a fighting stance. However, Naruto held his hand up

"Don't worry about it. I don't want to fight, in fact I just want to talk." Naruto said, surprising them.

"Why do you want to talk rather than fight?" Shinji asked, still on his guard in case if this is a trap.

"Because there's no need for it. In fact, why don't we help you gather the herbs for him" Naruto said with a smile causing confusion.

"Why are you being so nice to us? We're your enemy." Haku asked as they were picking up the herbs for Zabuza.

"I have a better question to ask. Why didn't you attack me? You had the element of surprise, you easily could have killed me." Naruto asked.

"Well..." Shinji started but both he and Haku struggled to come up with an answer.

"You didn't want to cause trouble, all you wanted was to pick herbs peacefully for your friend, and even act like normal children. I can see it in your eyes that you never had a good childhood, you were forced to become shinobis early in your childhood despite your wishes. Also, I bet you and Zabuza have been on the run for a while, looking for jobs to help you out and this one is just one of many. In reality, you just want to live peacefully and thus why you didn't want to kill us, for the sake of being able to live in peace for just a few moments." Naruto said, tearing right into the very core of the two shinobis.

"Don't act like you understand us. You know nothing! At least you have friends and a village to live in, on the other hand Haku and I had no one but ourselves until Zabuza found us on the streets!" Shinji yelled angrily.

"Found on the streets?" Naruto repeated.

"Yes, on the streets. In the Mist, a hatred for bloodline users began to surface and then took full bloom after several battles between bloodline users and the Mist village. My parents were bloodline users and died when I was a only 5. I had to grow up in an orphanage and as soon as they found out I was a bloodline user, they kicked me out into the streets. I had to fend for myself for a while until Zabuza found me and this is when I met Haku. Her mother was killed by her own father and husband simply because she had a bloodline, and he even was about to kill her if it wasn't for Haku's powers. Eventually, we were found by Zabuza who took us in even when we told him of our bloodlines. He never once hated or feared us like those stupid villagers and that is why we owe everything to him and why you would never understand us!" Shinji growled with a glare.

"Maybe I can't understand you perfectly but I want to understand the both of you and why I want you to stop this foolishness and come with us!" Naruto pleaded, shocking them.

"Come with you?' Haku and Shinji both asked.

"Yes. The path that you are both on will only lead you to death. Even if you survive this upcoming battle, you will eventually walk into a battle that you will never walk away from and all this without enjoying the many things in life and even realizing your dreams. Stop this before it's too late and come with us, please." Naruto once again pleaded to the two of them.

"We know that...but we can't. We owe Zabuza-san everything and we can't just abandon him even if we have dreams of our own." Haku replied with a sad smile.

"We have to go but the next time we meet, we will hold nothing back, for the sake of our precious person." Shinji said, and then both vanished into thin air.

"Naruto, who the hell were you talking to?" Sasuke asked as he walked into the clearing.

"The two accomplishes of Zabuza. They came here to pick up some herbs for him and so I talked to them." Naruto answered.

"Why didn't you alert any of us?" Sasuke asked.

"Because they're not bad people and they weren't for a fight. In fact, I asked them to come with us back home." Naruto said.

"What the? Why for?" Sasuke asked.

"I just don't want anyone else to this die because of Gatou's greed and selfishness." Naruto replied.

"You're talking about that Inari's dad, right?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, his dad was killed by Gatou's men and caused the child to withdraw into a state of anger but that's not the only reason why I wanted them to come with us." Naruto explained as he reminisced of the story of Taiza, Inari's hero who was humiliated and killed by Gatou because the man dared to stand up against the greedy businessman.

"What's the reason?" Sasuke asked intrigued.

"Because they remind me of myself when I was little." Naruto said and then started to walk away.

"Hmm, I see what you mean. Anyway, I was coming here to ask you for some help." Sasuke said.

"Help with what?" Naruto asked.

* * *

Later tonight, Naruto and Sasuke arrived at Tazuna's house, all dirty and tired.

"Oh, so you guys are back but man, you guys look super dirty." Tazuna laughed as he saw the boys enter.

"Sorry but we have a knack for overtraining." Sasuke said and both boys grinned.

"All right. Naruto, Sasuke, starting tomorrow, you will be protecting Tazuna at the bridge as well." Kakashi said, which made both boys happy. They then sat on the table and started to eat

"By the way, have you been progressing on your training?" Kakashi asked.

"Yep." Both boys replied but then were startled when Inari smacked the table with both hands.

"Why do you bother to try so hard? It doesn't matter how strong you are, you're still no match for Gatou's men! You act all cool, and you talk all tough, but big strong guys like that are always to much for people weaker than they are. They'll destroy you!" Inari says, shocking everyone.

"Unfortunately, we're not like you and we will win." Naruto said, starting to glare at the young boy.

"No you won't and you saying that ticks me off! You go running your mouth when you don't know a thing! This isn't your town! What the hell do you know about me? I'm different from you, you're always clowning around and acting so cheerful, you don't know how hard life can be!" Inari yelled out with tears coming out of his eyes

"Aww, is this the part where I'm supposed to cry and sympathize for you? Sorry but I didn't get the memo." Naruto said.

"You're nothing but a heartless jerk!" Inari yelled.

"And you're nothing but a little selfish, emo kid who thinks he's had it tough. So what, your dad died? Guess what kid? People do die, that is a fact and no amount of crying is going to change that. Seriously, I don't know how your mother deals with a selfish brat who all he does all day is cry and get mad at people. If I was her, I would probably kill myself at how uncaring my son is about the feelings of others around him." Naruto said and then left. Inari then began to cry even more and left.

"He didn't have to say such things." Tsunami said.

"Yeah but that's the way he is. He tells you like it is whether you like it or not." Kakashi said.

"But he is right. Crying never changes anything and in fact, it makes things even worse." Sasuke said.

Later, Kakashi went and talked to Inari and explained why Naruto acted this way and in the end, Inari gained new respect for the blond.

* * *

The next day, Kakashi and Team 7 arrived at the bridge, only to gasp in shock as Tazuna's workers were lying on the ground.

"What happened here?" Tazuna asked around.

"Those guys were monsters..." One of the workers who were laying on the ground said.

"'It can't be…' Kakashi thought, just before a thick mist appeared to cover the bridge.

"They're coming!" He yelled, and then an evil and familiar laugh echoed through the mist.

"Well, nice to see you again Kakashi. And I see those brats are still alive. Guess you didn't kill them, Shinji." Zabuza said.

"I thought I did kill the black-haired one. Guess I must have gotten sloppy but I'll make sure I get him this time." Shinji said playfully with his oni mask back on as both he and Haku were dressed in their combat attires once more.

"In your dreams." Sasuke said with a smirk.

"Don't get too cocky Sasuke. Remember, he's the one that wounded you." Kakashi said.

"I know but I'm much stronger now." Sasuke replied.

"Haku, Shinji. You guys have fun with the genins while Kakashi and I settle our score." Zabuza said.

"Sasuke, how about you and I move somewhere else for our fight? Wouldn't want to get in the way of Haku-chan." Shinji asked.

"Whatever." Sasuke said and both disappeared.

"Haku, stop this. We don't have to fight." Naruto said.

"Naruto-kun, you know that person?" Sakura asked.

"Yes I do. Her name is Haku and I met her and the other boy named Shinji in the forest yesterday." Naruto replied calmly.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun, but for the sake of Zabuza-san and Shinji-kun, I must fight you!" Haku said and then charged Naruto with a senbon while the blond readied a kunai. They both met and clashed.

"Don't you see that all this will lead to is more death? Don't you want it to just stop?!" Naruto asked.

"I do but abandoning a friend is worse than trash and thus I will not abandon Zabuza-san!" Haku said, and then did a one-handed seal and created ice needles out of thin air and shot them at Sakura and Naruto who dodged out of the way.

"Kaze Ha Oshi No Justu!" Naruto said and retaliated with his wind pressure blast technique, blasting Haku back a couple of feet. Haku then got back up and went through a number of seals

"Tazuna-san, leave here now!" Naruto told the old man and then a number of floating ice mirrors are created from the cold air and water and then surround Naruto, Sakura and Haku like a dome.

"This is my Hi Jutsu, Makyou HyouShou (Secret Technique, Demonic Ice Mirrors)!" Haku said and then stepped into one of the mirrors much to the amazement of Naruto.

"Kaze Ha Oshi No Justu!" Naruto yelled as he shot his attack at one of the mirrors but was unable to break it.

"Is that your jutsu specialization?" Naruto asked.

"No. It is rather my Bloodline Limit." Haku said.

"I've heard about Bloodline Limit from one of my books. They are abilities passed down genetically in specific clans and thus are unique to the people of that clan only." Sakura explained.

"You are correct. This ability is mine and mine only and I will use it to protect my precious people." Haku said as she then started to move from mirror to mirror and at the same time started to shoot needles at our heroes, causing them to yell in pain.

"Ninjutsu Tokushitsu (Ninjutsu Specialization): Sakura No Mai (Dance of the Blossoms)!" Sakura yelled out as suddenly, a large number of cherry blossoms surrounded her.

"Whatever they are, they won't save you!" Haku said as she shot more needles toward Sakura but then the petals flew in front of Sakura and blocked the needles.

"Sakura Shuriken!" Sakura yelled and then shot shurikens in the form of petals.

'Those petals are dangerous.' Haku thought as she dodged them and then retreated into another mirror.

"I had enough of this! Ninjutsu Tokushitsu…"Naruto yelled and then performed the seal for the KB technique and then two Narutos appeared but looked different from the original. The one on the right had slightly longer hair tied in ponytail and lighter blond hair and wore a dark blue jacket instead of white with a white spiral instead of a red spiral, black shirt, gray shorts, black shoes, and no gloves. Also, he sported a colder look on his face than the real Naruto. The one on the left was a younger version of Naruto who had a cheerful look on his face and wore an orange jumpsuit with blue shoes and a red spiral on his back.

"The name is Shiki." The Naruto on the right said.

"The name is Kai." The Naruto on the left said with a grin.

"And we are the Naruto No Keiro (Paths of Naruto)!" The two clones said together.

* * *

Meanwhile at Tazuna's house, the two bodyguards of Gatou had entered the house and captured Tsunami and saw Inari and were about to lunge at him when they were suddenly knocked in the back of the neck, and rendered unconscious by Naruto.

"Naruto? But I thought you were suppose to be with the others?" Inari asked confused but also relieved that he saved them.

"I'm only a clone of Naruto. On their way, Naruto decided to make a clone in order to make sure that Gatou wouldn't try anything underhanded like trying to kill you guys and I guess he was right." the clone explained.

"Can you tell Naruto I'm sorry about what I said?" Inari told the clone.

"That's for you to tell him but I'm sure he will forgive you. Now, go and rally the villagers, it's time for you to become a hero." the clone said with a foxy smile and then poofed up.

Inari nodded and smiled for the first time in a long while before heading to the other houses in order to try and rally the villagers around him

* * *

"So Sakura-chan, what do you think of my specialization?" Naruto asked his girlfriend with a smirk.

"KAWAII!" Sakura squealed as she hugged and snuggled onto Kai Naruto.

"NANI? What do you think you're doing Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"I just can't help it! He's just so cute and huggable!" Sakura replied as she continued to hug the younger Naruto.

"Help me aniki!" Kai Naruto yelled as he tried to escape the clutches of the pink-haired girl but to no avail.

"Sakura-chan, I need him. You can hug him all you want after we're done." Naruto replied.

"Okay!" Sakura said and then let go of Kai Naruto, "I forgot to ask. Are they special clones?" Sakura asked.

"Yep. Each have their own personalities, consciousness and also techniques." Naruto explained.

"So that's your ninjutsu specialization, huh? Well then, here's mine!" Haku said as she then performed a seal and suddenly, there were reflection of her in each and every mirror.

"Why am I not going to like this?" Naruto asked.

"Begin!" Haku said as she and all of her reflections began firing senbon needles at our group.

"Sakuraheki (Wall of Sakura)" Sakura yelled out and then all of her petals formed a large shield in order to protect them from the assault.

"We have to think of something quick Naruto. Even if I can block her assault with my petals, we still need to take her out." Sakura said.

"I know I know. Just let me think of something." Naruto replied.

"Let me handle her." Shiki Naruto suddenly said.

"By yourself? Are you stupid? You'll only get skewed out there!" Naruto retorted.

"Besides Shiki-aniki, we all have to fight together as a team because teamwork is the key." Kai Naruto added cheerfully.

"**I said I'll handle her so shut the fuck up and leave now before I kill you all.**" Shiki Naruto replied with a dark glare.

"H…hai, Shiki-aniki." Kai Naruto replied trembling.

'Holy crap, he makes Sasuke look like a saint.' Naruto thought with a sweatdrop behind his head.

'Scary…' Sakura thought.

"Okay, we'll leave this to you but don't mess up, got it?" Naruto ordered.

"Yes I heard you already **now leave me alone!**" Shiki Naruto said, growling the last part darkly.

"Okay, we're leaving already. Sakura, genjutsu!" Naruto said.

"Hai." Sakura replied as she nodded her head and then went through a series of seals, 'Sakuragen (Sakura Illusion)!' Sakura said.

Suddenly, Haku found herself pinned to a Sakura tree in the middle of the forest.

'A genjutsu!' Haku thought and then cancelled the genjutsu only to find out that that everyone except Shiki had left.

'So they used the distraction to escape but why only leave this guy?' Haku thought.

"Sorry but I'm a bit impatient when it comes to fighting so let's get this over with, shall we?" Shiki Naruto asked with a smirk.

"If you insist but you've just made a big mistake!" Haku said, 'It doesn't matter what his abilities are, he can't break through my mirrors and thus can't harm me nor my reflections.' Haku thought as she unleashed her onslaught once again.

"You think that I can't break your mirrors, huh? How naïve. My name is Shiki Naruto and this is my special ability." Shiki said with a smirk as the needles headed for him.

Then in an instant, all of the mirrors were shattered and Haku fell to the ground with her mask broken.

"He did it!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Wait a minute, what is he doing?" Naruto asked as he saw Shiki walk toward Haku.

"I must say, you really are beautiful. Too bad I have to cut you to pieces." Shiki said with a dark smirk as he was near her.

"S…Shinji-kun." Haku said weakly as she tried to get up but to no avail.

"Shi-ne (Die)." Shiki said as he was about to finish her off when his right hand was suddenly caught by a rope of rose petals.

"What do you think you're doing, onna (woman)?" Shiki asked Sakura.

"Stopping you from killing Haku-chan." Sakura said.

"Damn it Shiki, she's not our enemy. Gatou is!" Naruto growled.

"Hmm." Shiki said and then disappeared and reappeared in front of Sakura.

"You got some guts, woman. I like that." Shiki said with a smirk before cupping Sakura's chin and then kissed her fully on the lips.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Naruto asked.

"What does it look like? I'm kissing our woman." Shiki said as he ended the kiss, leaving a red and dazed Sakura.

"Our woman?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Of course she is. You honestly don't expect me to let you have her for yourself, do you? I am another you after all." Shiki replied with a smirk.

"Wait? There are more of you?" Sakura asked.

"Yep. He created a total of five of us but only could summon us two since the others are not totally functional yet." Shiki answered.

"Five Narutos…" Sakura began to say and then had a nosebleed and fainted.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed as he saw his girlfriend faint.

"Shiki-aniki, do you think you'll be able to teach me how do that?" Kai Naruto asked.

"Of course, otouto." Shiki replied.

"NO YOU WILL ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Naruto yelled.

'Shinji-kun…' Haku thought as she looked toward the direction where Sasuke and Shinji were fighting.

* * *

"From the sound of it, it looks like my friends defeated your partner." Sasuke said smirking.

"It looks like it. So, should we wrap this up?" Shinji asked as he got into his battojutsu stance.

"Whatever you say." Sasuke replied.

"Shunchi!" Shinji yelled and was behind Sasuke in a mere instant with his sword drawn. He then swung his katana but to his shock, Sasuke blocked it with what seemed like a dark reddish gauntlet on his right arm.

"Kaen (Flame)!" Sasuke yelled as his gauntlet suddenly emitted fire and knocked Shinji back about 5 meters.

"What is that? And how did you keep up with me?" Shinji asked.

"This is my ninjutsu specialization called Ryuu Kaen (Dragon Flame) and it allows me to use fire techniques without the use of seals, much like my sensei's Raikou Ookami. And as for how I was able to keep up with you, it was all thanks to my Sharingan." Sasuke said.

"S…Sharingan?" Shinji said.

"Yep. It's a kekkai genkai that allows me to copy techniques and see through techniques meaning that no matter what jutsu you perform, I can see through it and even copy it. My Sharingan allowed me to see through your technique and find out how it worked and it basically works like this: Your Shunchi is actually a combination of shunshin no jutsu and fast footwork. By using this two in conjuction, you are actually creating an even faster version of shunshin no jutsu and thus why people cannot even register when you move. Usually when someone uses a high-speed movement technique, the opponent can see them disappear but can't track them because they move so fast. However, your technique is so fast that the opponent can't even register when you move and thus allows you to sneak up on them for the kill much easier. And also, my sharingan allows great clarity of perception which allows me to track down your every move and with the added training I got, my body is able to keep up with it." Sasuke explained.

"I see. So you also possess a kekkai genkai as well and yours sounds very interesting." Shinji said.

"What? Do you also have a kekkai genkai? If you do then what the heck are you doing holding it back? This is a fight you know!" Sasuke growled angrily.

"You're right, I should stop playing around but it's just that I have a playful nature. Also, my kekkai genkai is not as interesting as yours but, I would say it's even more deadlier than yours. It is called Toukai (Sword Release) and it goes like this." Shinji said as he then put his left hand on his katana and it then transforms into a katana with a small ring near the crossguard and an orange hilt.

"Benihiko (Crimson Flying Locusts)!" Shinji yelled out and then uses his Shunchi to reappear in the air and then moves the blade around him in a circle, and then a trail appears from the swordsman's path which then turns into sword which then rain down on Sasuke who moved out of the way.

The rain of swords destroyed a large part of the bridge.

"Tensho (Heaven Spear)!" Shinji yelled as he once again put his hand on his blade which then glowed white and extended toward Sasuke at high speed.

Sasuke dodged it and then reappeared behind Shinji and then tried to punch him but then Shinji spun around and blocked it with a red longsword. He then grinned as he crossed his red longsword with a blue longsword in the shape of an X and then they glowed with chakra as Shinji was then able to knock Sasuke to the ground by emitting a wave of chakra from his blades.

"Kirigasho (Mist Fang Slice)!" Shinji yelled out as his sword turned into a silver katana with a chain in the back of the hilt and he then swung it and shot a concentrated blast of chakra in the form of a crescent moon.

Sasuke barely dodged the attack as the attack cut through the bridge.

'I have to finish him now or else he'll destroy this entire bridge.' Sasuke thought.

"My Toukai allows me to basically transform a sword into another type of sword that I wish and not just that, but I can also change any non-living thing into a sword, basically allowing us to crease an infinite amount of swords. However, this is not all I can do. Kenjutsu Specialization: Hiramekitouryuu (Flash Sword Style)." Shinji said as he then began to use Shunchi all over the place, appearing and attack in multiple spots causing Sasuke to just stand and block.

"Even if you can track me, you can't keep up with my kekkai genkai's unpredictability!" Shinji laughed as he continued his onslaught.

"You're really starting to piss me off! Kaen Tatsumaki (Flame Twister)!" Sasuke yelled as he then emitted a huge amount of fire from his gauntlets and grieves that took the form of a large hurricane that engulfed Shinji. However, Shinji was able to use his Shunchi to get out of the twister in mid-air with only partial burns.

"Just where I wanted you!" Sasuke said.

"Nani?" Shinji gasped as he realized he was tricked.

"Shishi Rendan!" Sasuke said and drove his left hand to Shinji's face, sending him toward the ground, then followed by his right hand to the boy's stomach and then Sasuke brought his right leg over and struck Shinji in the stomach, knocking him to the ground hard, and making him cough blood.

"So, how did you like Shishi Rendan (Lion Combo)?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.

"I won't...lose!" Shinji growled as he struggled to get back up.

"Give up, you can't win." Sasuke said.

"Urusai...I won't...No I can't give up. We've come too far to give up now!" Shinji said and charged toward Sasuke with his sword and swings it but Sasuke blocks it easily.

"Why are you doing this? Are you doing this for Zabuza?" Sasuke asked.

"Not just for him but for Haku-chan and also my dreams!" Shinji replied.

"Dreams? What dreams?" Sasuke asked.

"My dream is to back to the Mist Village and reform the Seven Swordsman of the Mist." Shinji answered.

"If you have dreams then instead of throwing them away for something like this, go and strive for them. At least you have dreams, I don't, not after what he did."

"Huh?" Shinji said as he tried to understand what the Uchiha meant.

"Not only did he rob me of my family, but he also rob me of my dreams, leaving me with nothing but anger and despair. However, you still have your dreams and this is why you need to live on so you can accomplish your sake. Besides, you don't have to worry about Haku, Naruto doesn't kill needlessly. So after this battle, go and seek your dreams instead of letting them wither or let them be destroyed by someone else." Sasuke said.

"SHINJI-KUN!" Haku said as she ran up to him and hugged him upon seeing him injured.

"Haku-chan." Shinji said with a soft smile.

"I'm glad you won and I'm glad you didn't kill him, Sasuke." Naruto said as he and Sakura approached the Uchiha.

"The same for you guys." Sasuke said.

"Haku-chan, I want to live out our dreams like we always wanted to. I don't want to live on the run forever. Besides, I did promise you that I would make you Mizukage." Shinji said.

"Me too, Shinji-kun." Haku said and nodded her head. "ZABUZA-SAMA!" Haku yelled.

"Is that Haku? Why is she calling me for?" Zabuza asked.

"Yo, Jigankai-sensei (late sensei)! Stop the fight!" Naruto said.

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT!" Kakashi yelled.

"Urusai. I will keep calling you that until you stop coming late which will never happen in this century." Naruto replied, causing Kakashi to mumble in anger before continuing, "I want you two to stop fighting now." Naruto said, surprising both jounins.

"Have you gone mad Naruto? He is our enemy!" Kakashi barked back to the blond.

"No he's not. Gatou is." Naruto replied sternly.

"Sorry kid but I work for Gatou and thus I'm your enemy as well." Zabuza said.

"Zabuza-san, please stop fighting! We don't want to do this anymore." Haku said.

"Haku?" Zabuza said surprised at what his adoptive daughter said.

"She's right. We don't want to live like this, having to put aside our pride as shinobi so we can work for greedy bastards like Gatou. We want to work toward accomplishing our goals, our dreams, live a better life where we don't have to work like this and where we can truly be proud of ourselves." Shinji added.

"Remember, you said you wanted to go back to the Mist and change it, right?" Haku asked.

"Well, we want to change it as well, make it a better place for bloodline users and everyone. And also reform the seven swordsman, the group that my parents were a part and you were a part of as well. Please, Zabuza-san, these people are not our enemy and in fact helped us realize what we have been doing is wrong so please stop fighting." Shinji pleaded.

"You kids are truly incredible, you know that? Alright, we'll do it, we'll go and live out our dreams!" Zabuza proclaimed.

"Too bad you won't live to do so, Zabuza." A voice said and everyone turned to see Gatou and his whole army of men on the bridge.

"Gatou!" Zabuza growled.

"That's Gatou? I thought he looked more intimidating." Sakura asked, suspicious.

"Haven't your parents ever told you about not judging things on appeareances, little girl?!" Gatou yelled at Sakura before turning back his focus on Zabuza, "Hehehe, the plan has changed. Well, actually I was planning to do this from the beginning. Zabuza, I'm going to have you killed here, I never planned on paying you any money. Hiring a normal ninja from the village is expensive and they may betray me, so I use you nuke-nins who are easier to take care of afterwards. I have the ninja battle each other and once they're weakened I kill them off with numbers. It doesn't cost me anything. Good plan, don't you think? The only problem in the plan was you, Zabuza. The Devil of the Hidden Mist? What a joke, if you ask me. You're just a cute little baby devil." He said to Zabuza, causing the ex-mist nin to glare at him.

"That's enough, kill them!" Gatou ordered

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Zabuza laughed, startling Gatou and his men, "Kill me? You must have lost your mind, Gatou. There's no way you can kill me, THE DEVIL OF KIRIKAGURE!" Zabuza roared and then ran toward Gatou and his men and started to slash through them despite getting stabbed by some of them. Gatou then tried to run away but Zabuza then stabbed him in the midsection and then brought his sword up, cleaving Gatou in two vertically.

"Why you! You killed our meal ticket. Now you're going to die and we'll pillage the village and take anything of value! Let's go!" The rest of the thugs yelled and we're about to kill Zabuza and the others when an arrow hit the bridge in between them and the thugs. All the shinobi turned to see Inari leading a large group of villagers armed with crossbows, spears, axes, swords, and other simple weapons.

"If you come any further onto this island, the citizens of this country will stop you with everything we've got!" Inari yelled. The rest of the thugs left on the boat, afraid of the villagers' wrath.

"I'm okay." Zabuza said to his two apprentices before falling down to the ground.

"DON'T SAY THAT AND THEN FALL TO THE GROUND, BAKA!" Haku yelled.

"Well then, I would say our mission is finished." Kakashi to his team and they nodded.

* * *

Two weeks had passed and Team 7,and Team Mist were at the bridge once more as they said their last good-bye to each other and Wave.

"So, are you guys going back to Mist?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah. It will be difficult but I think we'll manage." Zabuza answered and ruffled the hairs of both his adoptive children.

"Thanks to you our country was saved, but it will be awfully dull around here without you energetic youngsters," Tazuna said to Team 7.

"Heh, don't worry old man, we'll be back some day," Naruto said with a foxy grin

"By the way Naruto, I want to thank you and also sorry for what I said. If it wasn't for you, I don't think I would ever had the courage to do what I did." Inari said, thanking Naruto.

"You always had courage, Inari, you just needed to stop crying and believe in yourself. I also believe you will grow stronger, and by the way, apology accepted." Naruto smiled.

"Hai, ni-san!" Inari exclaimed with a grin and hugged the older shinobi.

As the shinobi parties went their own ways, Tazuna looked at Naruto upon the distance, grinned and said,

"That boy touched Inari's heart and Inari touched the hearts of all the people in our city. Naruto built the bridge that eventually carried us all to hope and courage. Speaking of bridges, we still have to officially dedicate this one, and there's only one name that will fit."

" Let's name it The Great Naruto Bridge!"

"That's just what I was thinking," Tazuna said as he pulled a dedication plaque from his back pack and prepared to mount it on the bridge.

To be continued...

* * *

Author Notes:

Naruto No Keiro (Paths of Naruto)

User: Namikaze Naruto

Specialization: A specialization based on Kage Bushin; Allows Naruto to conjure up clones that have their own personalities, ninjutsu specializations, and also are able to share visual information with Naruto and relay information telepathically basically attacking and defending as a single unit. (Yes, it is essentially like the Six Paths of Pein and the reason why I decided to give him that ability is because it works much better with Naruto with his constant usage of Kage Bushin. Don't worry, Pein will have something much powerful)

Sakura No Mai (Dance of the Sakura)

User: Haruno Sakura

Specialization: A specialization based on her chakra control. Allows her to emit chakra and turn it into steel-cutting and powerful petals that she can control. Because of her excellent chakra control, it has a lot of staying power (can stay activated for a long time) and is very accurate.

Kagami Hana (Mirror Flower)

User: Momoichi Haku

Specialization: Allows to spread chakra into her mirrors and create reflections that can attack as well.

Hiramekitouryuu (Flash Sword Style)

User: Sanada Shinji

Specialization: A specialization based on his kekkai genkai called Toukai (Sword Release) and his Shunchi. It is basically a kenjutsu based on using his Toukai abilities at high speed to overwhelm his opponent.

As always, read and review


	6. The Chuunin Exams begin!

Author's Note: Naruto nor the characters of the story belong to me unfortunately and belong rather to Kishimoto Masashi. All I am doing is writing another version of his story according to my creative vision.

* * *

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 6: The beginning of a new adventure; The Chuunin Exams have arrived!

* * *

It's been about a couple of weeks since Team 7 left Wave and returned to Konoha.

Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma were all in front of the Hokage along with other jounins in the Hokage Tower for a meeting.

"Ladies and Gentleman, we are here to hear the nominations for the chunnin exams." The Hokage said and puffed a cloud of smoke from his pipe before continuing, "I don't have to tell you this but after a genin has completed 8 missions, they can then be nominated for the chunnin exam by their sensei. Of course, completing more missions is the norm..." The Hokage said as he explained what was required for the genins' entrance to the exams.

'That's obvious. Besides, they're not ready yet for this exam.' Iruka thought.

"Now, starting with Kakashi." The Hokage said and Kakashi stepped forward.

"I, Hatake Kakashi, nominate Team 7, composed of Haruno Sakura, Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke. All three have shown more than the required skills for this exam and I feel that they are more than ready." Kakashi said.

'What?' Iruka thought, shocked at was he was hearing.

"I, Yuhi Kurenai, nominate Hinata Hyuuga, Inuzuka Kiba, and Abarame Shino of my Team 8, into the chunnin exam." Kurenai said.

"And I, Sarutobi Asuma, will nominate my team 10 of Akimichi Chouji, Nara Shikamaru, and Yamanaka Ino, into the chuunin exam as well." Asuma said, finishing off the nominations.

"All of them? Rare, very rare." The Hokage said.

"Wait a second!" Iruka yelled out, catching the attention of everyone.

"What is it, Iruka?" The Hokage asked.

"Please Hokage-sama, let me have a word on this. I may be speaking out of line but these nine were students of mine at the academy. Of course, they are very talented but it's too early for them to take an exam. They need more experience and this is why I cannot disagree with the reasoning of the jounins" Iruka said.

"They don't. If we continue to shelter them like this by forcing them to take lame missions, then they will never become true shinobis and their growth will be stunted. What better way to truly test them as shinobis than by having them the chuunin exam. Besides, I was 6 years younger than Naruto when I took mine." Kakashi said.

"But Naruto is different from you!" Iruka said.

"No he is not and stop acting like he is! He is a shinobi of this village, like myself, and thus is more than ready to take on exams like these. Besides, these exams are nothing compared to the true world of a shinobi. I will say this only once, Iruka. These kids are not long your students, they are our soldiers now, and if we feel they are ready then they are, understood?" Kakashi said with a glare, shutting up Iruka.

'Oh boy, that was intense, but Kakashi's right. These kids are no longer students but shinobis and we cannot stop them from facing tougher challenges ahead.' The Hokage thought.

"I will then accept the nominations of these three teams and now, onto the nominations for the non-rookie teams." The Hokage said, continuing the meeting.

* * *

Meanwhile, Naruto was meditating in one of the many training grounds while his clones were working on several techniques when Sasuke and Sakura walked into the clearing.

"Yo Naruto, Kakashi-sensei told us to meet him at the bridge so let's go." Sasuke said to his teammate.

"You do realize it's quite rude to interrupt someone's meditation Sasuke and besides, we all know Kakashi-sensei won't be there on time to save his life so why bother going there early?" Naruto asked his teammates.

"I know, but today is the day we kill him if he comes late." Sasuke grinned as he cracked his knuckles while Sakura smiled evilly with her chakra scapels on.

"Okay then I'm in and I get dibs on him first." Naruto grinned evilly and then they all headed toward the bridge.

* * *

"Okay, who paid you?" Naruto asked his sensei as they saw that he was actually early for once.

"What are you talking about, nobody paid me anything." Kakashi replied, looking at his students quizzically.

"That's crap. There are only two ways someone of your persona would ever come early and that is if someone paid you or you're being whipped and if that's the case, what's her name?" Naruto asked with a mischievous grin.

"I AM NOT BEING WHIPPED AND NO ONE PAID ME ANYTHING!" Kakashi hollered with a blush on his face, "Damn it, why did he have to be your son, sensei?!' Kakashi thought.

"Then it's officially the end of the world." Naruto said as he turned to look at his teammates.

"Aw come on, don't you guys have any confidence in my abilities to come on time?" Kakashi asked in a hopeful tone.

"WE DON'T!" His students replied. This caused Kakashi to go in the corner, in a depressed mood and saying things like how his students were so cold.

"Stop acting depressed and just tells us why you wanted to meet us." Sasuke growled in impatience.

"Oh yeah," Kakashi said as he recovered from his depressive stupor and then stood back up, "I just wanted to tell you guys that the Chunnin Exams are in a few days." Kakashi revealed to his students with a smile.

"The Chunnin Exams?" Sasuke and Naruto repeated.

"Kakashi-sensei, what are the chunnin exams?" Sakura asked.

"The chunnin exams are held every year to determine which genins have the capacity to become chunnins. It's basically the step to the next level for you guys and I've decided to sign you guys in." Kakashi said.

"Really?" The genins said with excited looks on their faces.

"Yep, all true. So, what do you think of your sensei now, pretty cool right?" Kakashi asked as he was expecting a compliment only for his comments to have been ignored by his students who were in their thoughts.

'Why are they so mean to me?' Kakashi cried mentally.

'A step to the next level, huh? I couldn't be happier.' Sasuke thought as he shook in anticipation.

'Another obstacle for me to overcome in order to be Hokage.' Naruto thought with a smirk.

'This is my chance to prove myself as a kunoichi!' Sakura thought, '**SHANNARO!"** Inner Sakura yelled, joining in.

"Whatever, this is all for today. Sasuke, can you stay with me for a minute, I need to talk to you about something important." Kakashi said to the Uchiha, causing him to raise his eyebrow in confusion.

"Hey Sakura, want to get some ramen with me?" Naruto asked the girl, making her blush.

"S..sure." Sakura replied and the two headed on.

"So Kakashi, what is it?" Sasuke asked.

"It's about what you said when we first introduced ourselves. You said that you wanted to defeat your brother instead of killing him? What brought the change from killing to beating?" Kakashi asked.

"The change happened a few months after the massacre. I was actually thinking of becoming an avenger but then he came and changed everything..." Sasuke began to say.

_Flashback:_

_Sasuke, age 8, and with only a black shirt with the uchiha sign on the back, and white shorts, was sitting near the pond by himself like he has been ever since the death of his clan. He thought about everything that happened and then his blood started to boil when the image of his brother ran through his head. He then picked up some rocks and started to throw them at the pond._

_"Damn you, Itachi! They all admired you, I admired you! Father even loved you more than me, and yet you killed them all, and for what?! To test your stupid capacity! I hate you, I hate you, I HATE YOU!" Sasuke roared as he continued to throw the rocks as tears started to flow from his eyes._

_"Yare, yare dase. What did this pond ever do to you for you throw those rocks so hard at it?" A voice said and when Sasuke turned around, he saw a man with a similar haircut to his but much shorter. He had on a red oriental shirt with a gold dragon on the front and back, black pants with that same dragon, and sandals._

_"Who are you?" Sasuke asked._

_"My name is Kyo, and you must be Uchiha Sasuke, right?" Kyo grinned as he introduced himself._

_"Wait, how did you know my name?" Sasuke asked, suspicious of this man._

_"Well, I heard that the whole Uchiha clan was massacred and that Uchiha Sasuke was the only survivor and since you're sitting here all by yourself and crying and throwing rocks, it was a pretty safe bet to assume you're him." Kyo grinned._

_"So, what are you going to do about it?" Kyo asked._

_"About what?" Sasuke asked._

_"About the massacre of your clan, that's what." Kyo answered._

_"I am going to avenge my clan, that's what. I am going to get stronger, hate him with all my being and kill him for what he did!" Sasuke said as he clenched his fists in anger._

_"So you want to become an avenger, huh? Well, that's not good." Kyo said and sighed._

_"Why not? Itachi deserves to die for what he did and he left me in order to kill him, so I can become the avenger of my clan!" Sasuke said._

_"So you think becoming an avenger and killing this man will bring them back, huh? Do you really think it will make them happy?" Kyo asked with a stern look on his face._

_"What do you mean? That's what they would want!" Sasuke roared._

_"Are you sure? Is that what they would want or what Itachi wants you to do? Living by hatred, is that what they would want or Itachi would want?" Kyo asked. When he saw Sasuke struggling to come up with a response, he smirked and continued, "Being an avenger is nothing but pure self-destruction. When one becomes an avenger, they lose their identity and purpose only in order to kill one person but what they fail is that in trying to kill this one person, they end up destroying everyone around them and after you do kill that person, all you are left with is emptiness and loneliness. In the end, avengers lose more than they gain, including their goals, dreams, and even their friends, and lovers." Kyo explained to the young boy_

_" H...How do you know all this?" Sasuke asked, a bit awed by Kyo as his words started to hit him deep._

_"Because I became an avenger myself, and as I went through life as an avenger, I realized the damage I was causing around me and inside of me and realized that it was not the way it should be and hence why I stopped being an avenger." Kyo answered._

_"But then...But then what I am supposed to do? He killed my clan, he took away my family, I don't have anyone else but myself!' Sasuke yelled, with tears flowing down once again._

_"Live, that's all you have to do. Instead of trying to destroy your life in order to kill one person, live your life so you can grow strong and protect those you love and hold dear to you. Hatred is not true strength, your goals, dreams, and what's from within is what is your true strength. We define our strength by our own experiences, Itachi may have gotten his strength via hatred but that doesn't mean you have to gain your strength through hatred. Instead, use your pain of loss to strengthen you so that way you become even stronger than your brother and never lose another precious person." Kyo said._

_"Finding my own strength?" Sasuke said and then looked down at his hands and then images of his parents and uncles and aunts appeared and then he clenched his fists._

_"You're right, I have to do this on my own, not listen to what Itachi said or do it how he did it. I will find my own strength and become strong!" Sasuke said with a hint of pride._

_"That's the spirit, gaki." Kyo grinned and ruffled Sasuke's hair._

_End Flashback:_

"Kyo-san trained me for a little while before he left the village. He's the one that told me about true strength and hence why I decided to stop becoming an avenger and just focus on becoming a strong shinobi and if the time comes, I will defeat Itachi." Sasuke said.

"But why defeat him instead of killing him?" Kakashi asked.

"Because I saw that killing him would be too good for him and thus instead, if I just defeat him, it will torture forever knowing he is weaker than me and the clan." Sasuke smirked.

"I see. Oh well, that's all I wanted to do that and I'm glad that you changed. Anyway, see you later." Kakashi said and then disappeared.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura were walking around when suddenly, Naruto stopped and sighed before turning around.

"What's wrong, Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked as she was wondering why her boyfriend was sighing for.

"Konohamaru, you are not going to fool me with that disguise, a rock doesn't have any holes, dumbass." Naruto said he saw spotted the boy and his friends hiding under a box, following them. Smoke comes out and then Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon come out.

"Konoha's future Hokage and ninja superstar, Konohamaru!" Konohamaru

"Konoha's sexy kunoichi, Moegi!" Moegi said.

"And the one who is a master of the numbers, Udon!" Udon said, finishing the trio's entrance.

"Sakura-chan, I present you the beansprout trio." Naruto said as he pointed to the trio.

"STOP CALLING US THAT!" The three children yelled back but to no avail as Naruto whistled as if he didn't do anything.

"Wow, how cute." Sakura said while Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Hey ni-san, is that you're 'it' Konohamaru asked Naruto as he pointed to Sakura.

"Only if she wants to." Shiki Naruto replied as he somehow was out of Naruto's body. He stroked Sakura's cheeks slowly, making the girl blush an impossible color and also making her moan.

"Ooh, can you teach me that too Shiki-aniki?" Kai Naruto asked with a bundle of enthusiasm as he was also out of Naruto's body.

"Yeah, me too!" Udon and Konohamaru asked, despite being oblivious to the fact that there were two other Narutos.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Naruto hollered to Kai, Udon, and Konohamaru and then turned to Shiki, "And stop messing with her and how did you two even get out of my body?" Naruto asked as he was getting frustrated by them.

"We just did, duh. Like I said also, she is our woman, not just yours and I can do anything I want to her. Anything…" Shiki replied with a cool smirk as he put the emphasis on the word anything.

"So, is this how leaf ninjas spend their day? How pathetic." Said a voice that full of arrogance and everyone turned to see a boy dressed in all black with make-up on his face and a huge wrapped thing on his face and a girl next to him who had blond hair and wore a tight body suit with a large metal thing strapped to her back head toward them. They both wore headbands, one the head for the boy and on the neck for the girl, with a different symbol.

'Those are foreign shinobis. Are they already here for the exams?' Sakura wondered as she recalled that the chuunin exams were on.

"What's your name?" Shiki asked as he glared the duo.

"Me?" The boy asked.

"I'm talking to her. What's your name, woman?" Shiki asked the girl.

"M…My name is Temari." Temari responded with a light blush on her face, 'That boy is handsome.' Temari thought and then suddenly gasped as Shiki was in front of her and put his right arm around her waist, making her blush.

"What the hell do you think you're doing to my sister, bastard?!" The boy growled angrily as he watching this stranger getting a bit too intimate with his older sister.

"Shut the hell up would ya? I'm in the middle of something if you haven't realized by now and I hate being interrupted." Shiki replied nonchalantly as he glared at the boy.

"Naruto-kun, shouldn't you try to stop Shiki?" Sakura asked, worried.

"No need and besides, this could actually help in retrieving information about foreign shinobis." Naruto replied.

"So," Shiki began to say and then put his lips up to Temari's left ear, "how about we get to know each other better, really better, Temari-chan." Shiki said to her in a very seductive tone.

"That's it! I'm so going to clobber you!" The boy said as he was about to strike Shiki when suddenly, a bluish and black blur appeared in front of him and struck him with a back knuckle to the face, knocking back about ten meters into a fence.

'To be able to do this to Kankurou, just who the heck are those guys?' Temari thought.

"I didn't need your help, Uchiha." Shiki said as he looked at the Uchiha, who looked back at him in confusion as he was seeing three Narutos.

Seeing the look of confusion on his teammate's face, Naruto sighed and started to explain

"These are special clones that I created as part of my ninjutsu specialization. The smaller one is named Kai and this sexual predator and sociopath over there is Shiki." Naruto said.

"Thanks for the compliments, Naruto-aniki." Shiki said sarcastically.

"No problem, that's what family is for after all." Naruto replied with a smirk.

"I see, and those guys must be from a foreign village for the Chuunin exams, correct?" Sasuke asked.

"Pretty much. Okay you two, it's time to come back **now.**" Naruto said, glaring at the two clones angrily, causing Kai to gulp.

"I think we really made him mad, aniki." Kai said nervously to his 'older brother'

"Whatever." Shiki replied nonchalantly and then turned to Temari, "Catch you later." Shiki said with a wink that made the girl blush, and then he and Kai returned to Naruto's body.

"I had enough!" Kankurou growled as he got back up and glared at the Uchiha, "Time for you to get a taste of Karasu!" Kankurou yelled with a laugh.

"Kankurou, don't!" Temari warned her brother but then everyone gasped as they saw a young red-haired boy appear in front of Kankurou. He had blue eyes with black rings surrounding his eyes, indicating lack of sleep. He was wearing a black slick trenchcoat with a white line going down in the middle. He also wore black pants, black shoes, and a large brown gourd strapped to his back.

'He looks so cute!' Moegi thought as she looked at the newcomer.

"G…Gaara!" Kankurou finally said as he looked upon the boy.

"Stand down, Kankurou." Gaara said in an indifferent tone as he was looking at Sasuke and Naruto.

"But Gaara…!" Kankurou began to protest but then Gaara used his left hand to grab him by the throat and lift him up, surprising everyone.

"**I won't repeat myself. Stand down."** Gaara said coldly with a dark look that peered through Kankurou's soul. The latter nodded weakly and then was let falling to the ground by Gaara.

'That guy…he's a lot stronger than those two that's for sure.' Naruto thought as he observed what the newcomer just did and also the attitude of the other two toward him; it was an attitude of someone who feared another individual.

"So, who are you?" Naruto asked.

"The name is Sabaku No Gaara and these are my siblings, Kankurou and Temari and we're here for the chuunin exams." Gaara replied, "What about you two? What are your names?" Gaara then asked.

"My name is Namikaze Naruto and these are my teammates, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura." Naruto said.

"Are you entering the chuunin exams by any chance?" Gaara asked as he stared at Naruto, trying to intimidate him.

"Yes we are." Naruto replied as he stared Gaara down, not affected by his stare.

Upon seeing that Naruto was unaffected by his stare, Gaara smiled and chuckled slightly

"It will be a pleasure then to face you in the exams. Until then, Namikaze Naruto." Gaara said with a smirk, and then turned to his siblings, "Let's go you two." Gaara said to his siblings and then all three started to walk away.

"Dude, did any of you feel that guy's chakra?" Sasuke asked.

"I did. It was overwhelming." Sakura replied.

"That means he's going to be one of the top-tiers in this exam." Naruto said.

"Man, this exam is going to be one hell of a party!" Sasuke chuckled with a huge grin as if he struck the jackpot.

'Only you would think like that.' Both of his teammates thought with a sweatdrop behind their backs.

* * *

_Day of the Chunnin Exam..._

"So, this is the place for the chunnin exam, huh?" Sasuke said as he and the others arrived in front of the building, "Well guys, why don't we get this party started huh guys?" Sasuke said to his teammates with a wicked grin.

"Just don't get too overexcited Sasuke or you might get your ass kicked and not even become a chuunin." Naruto said to his teammate.

"Don't even joke like that. Hell, there's no way I'm not going to become a chuunin." Sasuke replied.

"Is that so, Sasuke?" Naruto asked with a grin.

"Damn right." Sasuke replied with a grin and the two boys stared at each other fiercely.

"KNOCK IT OFF AND LET'S GET MOVING, YOU DUMBASSES!" Sakura yelled as he struck both boys upside their heads with her fists, leaving huge bumps on their heads.

"Y…Yes ma'am." Both boys said weakly and Sakura nodded with a proud smile on her face.

* * *

A bowl-cut haired boy with black eyes and wearing an all green-fighting uniform with blue shoes and bandaged hands was on the ground as two ninjas were blocking the way into the room 301.

"You're planning to take the chunnin exam with that? Ha, you should just quit right now!" One of them smirked as he looked down at the bowl-cut haired boy

"Damn Lee, you're letting those guys kick you around like that?" Sasuke whistled as he and his team arrived on the floor.

"Another group of kids? Like I said to this guy, it's best if you..." The same guard from before began to say only to get backhanded by Sasuke.

"Shut up already, you're annoying." Sasuke growled. Sakura then smirked and did a seal and unraveled the genjutsu, changing the number of the room from 301 to 201.

"So you knew this was a genjutsu?" The other guard asked.

"Of course. A low-level genjutsu can never fool someone like me." Sakura said with an arrogant smirk.

"Not bad, kids, but that doesn't mean a thing!" The one that got knocked down by Sasuke yelled and then ran toward Sasuke, intending on settling the score. Sasuke smirked and prepared to unleash a snap kick when Lee stepped in the middle and blocked both attacks with each hand.

"Geez Lee, you're such buzzkill." Sasuke said, sighing as he withdrew his attack.

"Gomen, Sasuke-kun, but I do not think it would be wise to start fighting here and besides, you have a very nasty temper." Lee said to his training partner.

"Uchiha Sasuke. I'm surprised they let someone of your skill level participate." Neji said as he approached the group.

"Hyuuga Neji. It looks your ego is still more massive than Konoha itself, you son of a bitch." Sasuke glared at the white-eyed boy.

"What's up with them?" Sakura asked the girl, who had brown hair in buns, a light pink oriental shirt, blue pants, and blue shoes with her forehead protector on her forehead.

"These two are not really the best of friends, though I don't know why. It seems that as soon as they meet, it's like a fight is about to break out." The girl said, "By the way, my name is Ten-Ten and yours is?" Ten-Ten asked.

"My name is Haruno Sakura, nice to meet you." Sakura said and both girls smiled at each other and shook each other's hands.

"I just hope for your sake that you do not meet fight me in this exam, Sasuke. I would hate to crush you in front of her." Neji smirked.

"And I hope for your sake that you don't piss me off again during this exam or I'll make sure to ram my foot so far up your ass, you won't be able to walk for a year. Come on guys, let's go." Sasuke barked back before telling his teammates to leave.

"Hmm, let's go as well, Lee, Ten-Ten." Neji said and he started to walk, followed by Ten-Ten who noticed Lee standing there.

"Hey Lee c'mon. We're gonna be late." Ten-Ten said.

"You guys go ahead, I have something to check." Lee said and then started to walk the opposite way.

* * *

Team 7 were heading for where every genin were suppose to go to for the exam when Lee suddenly jumped from the top of the stairs and landed in front of them.

"Lee? What the hell are you doing, shouldn't you be with your team?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes but there is something I need to check first. I need to see how strong you have gotten Sasuke and also how strong I have gotten as well." Lee asked.

"Why and why now?" Sasuke asked in an annoyed tone. He didn't mind fighting Lee at all, it was just that this was a bad time.

"Because Neji has gotten even stronger than before and is half-way complete with creating his new fighting style." Lee replied sternly.

This caused shock to appear on Sasuke's face. Despite their training, they were still weaker than Neji and with the latter getting stronger, they probably would never be able to beat him.

"I see what you mean. Sakura, how much longer do we have until the exam officially begins?" Sasuke asked Sakura.

"Sasuke, we don't have time for…" Sakura began to say but was interrupted by Sasuke

"Just answer me. How long?" Sasuke asked.

"About ten minutes." Sakura answered as she looked down at her watch.

"That'll be perfect. We'll be done by then so no holding back, got it?" Sasuke asked Lee who nodded back.

Both Sasuke and Lee then started to rock their bodies back and forth and then dashed toward each other. Sasuke began with a left punch to the face but Lee grabbed it with his own left hand and then countered with a right back knuckle to the face, knocking Sasuke back about three meters. Lee then executed a lunging mid kick with his right leg but Sasuke evaded to his right and then countered with two quick punches to the face and then a back knuckle to the face, knocking Lee back about five meters. Sasuke then continued his onslaught with a punch-punch left spin kick but Lee was able to block the first two punches and then grabbed the spin kick with his right hand and then countered with a kick to Sasuke's right leg using his right leg and then followed with a roundhouse kick to the jaw with his left leg, knocking Sasuke back about ten meters. Lee then disappeared and reappeared above Sasuke who was laying on the ground,

"Dragon Splitter!" Lee yelled as he brought his right leg down to finish off Sasuke but then Sasuke grabbed Lee's leg with his left hand and then brought his left leg up and smacked Lee in the face and then followed with a more powerful back knuckle to the stomach, knocking Lee back about fifteen meters.

"They're fighting so fast…it's not even a minute yet and they've landed so many attacks already." Sakura said in awe as she looked at her watch.

"Not only that but their offense and defense are impressive. They're able to attack and counter each so well." Naruto added on as he was also watching his teammate fight in awe, 'I knew Sasuke was good in taijutsu but never this good. He would definitely mop the floor with me in taijutsu.' Naruto added mentally.

Lee attacked with a backfist followed by a downward kick but Sasuke was able to avoid both and tried to counter but then Lee smirked and followed up at the last minute with a sweep, knocking Sasuke off his feet. Lee then followed then by putting his left hand on the ground and performing a rising kick, striking Sasuke under the chin and knocking him in mid-air.

"I've got you now! Konoha Senpuu!" Lee yelled as he then performed a mid-air spinning kick using his right leg but at the last minute, Sasuke was able to disappear and reappear on the ground, about eight meters back.

'He has improved his movement technique from last time.' Lee thought as he landed on the ground.

"Man Lee, we're having way too much fun but let's finish this, shall we?" Sasuke asked with a grin as he wiped the blood off his lips.

"No problem." Lee said with a smile.

Both fighters then dashed toward each other at high-speed as they both prepared for the final blow when suddenly, a large cloud of smoke appeared between them.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked.

When the smoke cleared, there was standing a reddish turtle with a headband around its neck. This caused everyone except for Lee to have a sweat drop behind their heads.

"What the fuck is this?" Sasuke asked only to get his right foot stomped by the turtle, making him yell in pain, "You little shit." Sasuke gritted through his teeth as he was in pain.

"That's what you get for being so rude and I came here to stop you idiots from using your strongest moves. Sasuke, you were planning on you the Dragon Knuckle on Lee and Lee, you were planning on using that forbidden technique on Sasuke, weren't you?" the turtle asked.

"What forbidden technique?" Sasuke asked.

"The Omote Renge." Lee replied.

"You mastered it? No way! That's awesome!" Sasuke exclaimed in surprise but also joy as his friend had mastered the technique.

"And because of your insolence, you gave me no choice to let him handle you all! Gai, you're up!" The turtle said and then a cloud of smoke appeared on top of it.

"Yo, you kids are the epitome of youth! My name is Gai, Maito Gai." Gai said and then gave a thumbs and a huge smile, and light hit off his teeth, giving it a ping.

"HOLY CRAP! IT'S A TALKING CATERPILLAR!" Naruto yelled as he was freaked out.

"I'm so scared, Naruto-kun." Sakura said shivering as she hid behind her boyfriend.

"Oh fuck me." Sasuke said as he knew the man.

"Now Lee, I usually would punish you right now for your disobedience but since you are taking the exams, I will not punish you so go out there and show them your taijutsu of hard work." Gai said and then gave his thumbs and smile again.

"Yes sir!" Lee said and then imitated his sensei. Gai then noticed Sasuke and his team and walked up to them.

"Oh my god, it's walking toward us." Sakura whispered in fright.

"Sasuke, it's nice to see you again and those must be members Kakashi's cell, which means Kakashi is also your sensei, right?" Gai asked.

"Yeah he is." Sasuke replied.

"How do you know Kakashi-sensei, Gai-san?" Sakura asked.

"People call us eternal rivals. I have beaten Kakashi 51 times to 50." Gai said as he was right behind the three genins.

'He's fast, even faster than Kakashi.' Naruto said, shocked.

"Still fast as hell, huh Gai." Sasuke smirked.

"You see, Gai-sensei is the coolest." Lee said.

"Now, you children don't want to be late so go on ahead and Sasuke, give my regards to Kakashi would ya?' Gai asked the Uchiha as he told them to get going.

"Sure." Sasuke replied and Team 7 left.

* * *

They enter the room where everyone was and as soon as they did, Ino tried to glomp Sasuke, only for the latter to move out of the way to avoid her, making her fall to the ground. He then looked around and Hinata Hyuuga with her team and walked up to her.

"Hey Hinata. I didn't know you and your team we're going to take the exam." Sasuke smiled.

"Kurenai-sensei nominated us for the exam, Sasuke-kun." Hinata replied, blushing.

"It looks like everyone came to get killed. Mendoukse na." Shikamaru said as he sighed while Chouji was eating chips and Ino was trying to flirt with Sasuke but to no avail as the latter ignored her.

"Oh my god Shikamaru, you actually moved!" Naruto snickered as he saw the lazy pineapple-headed genin.

"I am going to kill you one of these days, you troublesome smart-ass." Shikamaru said as he glared at Naruto in annoyance.

"Now come on Shikamaru, I know you're lazy but there's no need to lie to my face like that." Naruto said which annoyed the Nara even more.

"So troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed in defeat.

"Looks like the gang is all here, this is gonna be fun." Kiba grinned.

"Hopefully you won't get beat up so easily like in the academy, Kiba." Sasuke said with a smirk.

"What did you say?" Kiba growled at Sasuke as he got up in his face and Akamaru barked.

"Kiba, I'm sure Sasuke-kun didn't mean that." Hinata said as she tried to calm her partner from fighting with her crush.

"Man, your rookies sure are noisy." A man with a white ponytail, glasses and wearing a purple suit with a white shirt underneath, purple pants, blue shoes, and black gloves said as he walked up to the rookies.

'**This guys smells like snakes, kit. Be on your guard when you are around him.**' Kyuubi told Naruto.

'So you must be Kyuubi. About time I heard you talk, it would be bad to be the container of a demon who is too afraid to talk.' Naruto said to the Kyuubi.

'**Look smart-ass, I don't even want to speak to a vermin like you but you're my container which means I have no choice since if you die, I die. So like I said, be careful with this guy and I'm out.**' Kyuubi growled to Naruto and then cut off communication.

'Victim number 512. Alright.' Naruto thought and then turned his attention to Kabuto, "So who the hell are you?" Naruto asked bluntly.

"I'm Kabuto, but instead of that, look behind you!" Kabuto said and all nine rookies did as instructed and saw three Hidden Rain shinobi glaring at them. "Those guys behind you are from the Hidden Rain, they have short tempers. Everyone is nervous about this exam, quiet down before you cause a scene. Well, I can't blame you, you are clueless rookies. You remind me of how I used to be." Kabuto said.

"If you mean wearing glasses and acting all cheerful toward strangers, then no, sorry." Naruto replied.

'Smart-ass.' Kabuto thought.

"Ano, Kabuto-san? Is this your second time?" Hinata asked in a timid tone.

"Nope, my seventh time," Kabuto answered as he reached for his supply pouch.

"Wow you suck." Sasuke said.

"And the reason why I have taken it this many times is because this exam is held twice a year so this is my fourth year and it is not an easy exam, kid." Kabuto said as he threw a glare at Sasuke.

"So you must know a lot about this exam, Kabuto-san" Sakura said.

"That's right," Kabuto said as he held up some strange looking cards. "Hehe, I'll share some info with you cute rookies with these Nin-info cards" He said with a grin, " These cards are a way of holding information. All I have to do is get what I want, and imprint it onto the card with chakra. Here's a demonstration." Kabuto said. He held up a blank card before placing it on the ground and sending a burst of chakra into the card, and then a map appeared.

"This map shows how many people are taking the exam and the countries they represent, see?" Kabuto explains.

"Do you have cards with info on individuals?" Sasuke asked with a hint of interest.

"Sure, are there some guys you're worried about?" asked Kabuto.

"Hyuuga Neji." Sasuke simply said.

"No problem." Kabuto said and then went through the same routine he did for the map and then Neji's data appeared on the card, "Let's see now. He has high taijutsu skills, high speed and power, decent at everything and has taken quite a bit of missions, mostly C-ranked, and B-ranked." Kabuto said as read off what was on the card.

"Thank you." Sasuke said as he now had info on his rival.

"Anyone else want to try?" Kabuto asked to the rookies.

"I do." Gaara said as he appeared next to Naruto.

'I didn't even sense him.' Was the thought that was running through every of the rookies' minds.

"And who would that be?" Kabuto asked.

"Namikaze Naruto." Gaara answered in a mischievous tone as he nodded his head to point to Naruto and stared at him and while it did surprise most of the rookies, it didn't surprise Team 7 considering the events that happened yesterday.

'Namikaze? So that kid is the son of the Yondaime? I'll have to report this to him soon.' Kabuto thought in shock.

"While we're at it, I want some info on Sabaku No Gaara." Naruto said as he nodded his head to point at Gaara and also stared at him, as if to show that he wouldn't back down from the red-haired genin.

"Here it goes." Kabuto said before doing his technique again and then two cards, one with Naruto's data and one with Gaara's appeared.

"Let's start with Naruto. Full name is Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto and has aN incredible aptitude for ninjutsu, and has mastered many techniques already and has taken many D-ranked missions and an A-ranked mission as well. Not bad." Kabuto said as he read off Naruto's card, "and now onto Gaara's. Full name is Sabaku No Gaara and comes from the Sand Village. Has incredible aptitude for ninjutsu as well and in fact is on the same level as Naruto. Has taken 8 C-ranked missions, 1 B-ranked, two A-ranked, and three S-ranked and has returned from all without a scratch." Kabuto said as he finished reading off Gaara's card and everyone was shocked and in awe that there was actually a genin like them that had taken that many high-ranked missions and come out of it alive and without even a scratch.

'He has the same level of ninjutsu as me? Then it seems I was correct, he is top-tier.' Naruto thought.

"Thanks pal, you proved to be not so much of a loser as you look after all." Gaara said with a cocky smirk and then walked back to his team who were in the far right corner of the room but not before giving Naruto one last look and smirk. He returned to his team and sat down on a chair, relaxed.

"Leaf, Sand, Rain, Grass, Water fall, Sound, many outstanding Genins from the various hidden villages are here to take the exam," Kabuto said and then added, "Well, Hidden Sound is a small village just created last year so there isn't much info but the rest of the hidden villages are filled with talented youngsters."

Naruto smirked, and then decided to walk on top of a nearby table and looked at everyone, who looked back at him.

"Listen very well because I am only saying this once. I'm going to crush anyone who stands in my way of reaching my dreams, and that's a promise. So try and stop me but be warned, I won't hold back." Naruto said coldly, leaking a killer intent so massive that it even froze the three oto genins that were going to attack Kabuto for his remarks on the Oto village, before retreating back to his team.

'Namikaze Naruto, I'll definitely have fun killing you.' Gaara thought in anticipation from the blond's proclamation.

'He's got guts.' Kabuto thought.

'And he accuses me of hogging all the spotlight? That guy.' Sasuke mentally smirked.

"What were you thinking Naruto?" Ino hollered at the boy.

"Just felt like saying the truth to everyone. I will pass these exams and no one will stop from doing so, not even you, Yamanaka." Naruto said coldly, making the girl back away.

Then, smoke appeared and then a group of chunnin examiners were staying behind a tall chunnin with scars on his face, a cap on his head tied by his headband, a black trenchcoat, gray shirt, and black pants and black gloves.

"Sorry for making you wait. My name is Morino Ibiki and I'm the proctor for the 1st part of the chunnin selection exam." Ibiki said with a grin.

* * *

The Chunnin Exams have begun! Who will pass and who will fail? Find out next time on Namikaze Hokage!

AN: As always, read and review.


	7. The test of will

Namikaze Hokage

"My name is Morino Ibiki and I am the proctor the first test of the Chunnin Exams." Ibiki said.

Chapter 7: The test of will

"We will now begin the first test of the chunnin exams. I want all of you to turn in your applications, take out of these number tags and then sit to the seat the number indicates. Once you are seated, you will be given your papers that you will use for the written test." Ibiki explains.

"A written test? Oh fuck me." Sasuke mumbled.

"Is the great Uchiha so scare of written tests?" Naruto asked with a smirk.

"Shut up Naruto." Sasuke growled back at his snickering teammate.

After getting their tags, the genins sat down on their seats.

'Hmm, it looks they separated us.' Naruto thought as he looked around.

'Looks like I got to sit next to the cute blonde.' Temari thought as she was sitting next to Naruto in one of the rows.

Sasuke looked around and then saw Hinata sitting two rows below him. Hinata then turned her head and saw Sasuke looking at him and smiled at him. This caused Sasuke to blush and turned back to his seat of paper.

"Do not turn your test over and listen closely to what I have to say," Ibiki instructed the genins, and then continued, "There are many important rules to this first test. I'll write them on the board as I explain, but questions will not be allowed, so listen carefully!"

Ibiki turned his back to the genin and started writing on the board and said, "The first rule, you all start with ten points. The test has ten questions, each worth one point, but this is a subtraction exam. For each wrong answer you lose a point. A perfect score on the test will let you keep all your points. Getting all the questions wrong means you get zero points. The second rule is that this is a team test. Whether you pass or not is determined by your team's combined score. So each team starts with thirty points and sees how many you can hold from that amount. The third rule is that during this exam, anyone the proctors catch doing sneaky activity, namely cheating, will have two points subtracted for each offense! So there will be some who will lose all their points during the exam and be asked to leave."

'Those examiners, they look really sharp, they really don't want us to cheat.' Naruto thought as he looked around.

"Realize that the idiots caught cheating are only hurting themselves. As shinobi trying to achieve the rank of Chunin, be proud ninja! And the final rule, anyone who loses all their initial points during the test or fails to answer any questions correctly will be failed along with their two teammates! Now, begin!" Ibiki said to the students.

'What the hell is this?' Sasuke asked mentally as he looked at the questions on his exam.

'Those questions...are impossible to answer for anyone except probably Sakura. On top of that, the way the rules are set up, it's just stupid. It's like they want us to cheat...That's it! They want us to cheat, but do it an efficient way. It's almost like a recon or information retrieval mission if you think about it. When wanting to retrieve information, you have to do in an effective way and without getting caught. If someone gets caught, then the mission fails and they die and the same goes for us shinobis, especially when we are put in teams of three and more. The penalties for cheating will only apply if we cheat the wrong way and get caught. Now, if I'm correct, then this means there are a couple of people the examiners placed there who have all the answers and it's our job to locate and copy from them without getting caught.' Naruto analyzed mentally.

However, he was not the only one that caught on to this as everyone else did as well. Sasuke called out his Sharingan and started to copy the movements of one of the moles, Hinata and Neji used their Byakugan to copy as well, Shino used one of his beetles to get the answers, Kiba used Akamaru, Gaara summoned a third eye from his sand and used it to get the answers.

'Alright, Sakura, time to give me those answers! Shintensen No Justu (Mind Switch Technique)!' Ino smirked mentally, and then performed her technique which allowed her to teleport her mental consciousness into Sakura's in order to take control. In control of Sakura's body, Ino was able to memorize all of the answers, before returning to her own mind and writing them down and then give them to her team. Tenten used a bunch of chakra strings to maneuver the mirrors in the ceiling lights to get the answers for her and Lee.

'Let's see here. What can I use to cheat? I see. Kage Bushin No Jutsu: Semai (Shadow Clone Technique: Small).' Naruto thought and summon a shadow clone that so small that it resembled a bug. He then whispered quickly to it and the clone nodded before turning into a fly and then flying to get the answers from one of the moles. It then returned on Naruto's right shoulder, and turned back to its true form and gave the answers to Naruto. Suddenly, a kunai flew by Naruto and hit the paper of someone else.

'That must mean that person got caught cheating.' Naruto said as he saw the person whose's paper was struck by the kunai being thrown out of the room, along with his team. And as the test went on, the same happened to numerous people, cutting the numbers down. Naruto then looked at the tenth question, which had specific instructions, "This question will be revealed forty five minutes after the test begins. Listen closely to the examiner before answering'.

'I wonder why this question has its own set of instructions. Oh well.' Naruto thought but then shrugged and decided to wait as he was done.

""Excuse me," Kankuro of the sand team said..

"What do you want?" The Chunnin replied

"Bathroom," Kankuro said, wincing slightly as he rubbed his legs together.

The Suna Genin was soon handcuffed by a Chunin who said, "we have to follow you to the bathroom," and held one end of a rope tied to the handcuffs like a leash.

"Whatever," said Kankuro as he walked out of the room.

'Hehehe, we've gotten rid of the losers, now to move on to the tougher characters. It's time to up the pressure,' Ibiki thought as he gazed around the room. He then cleared his throat and said, "Okay, time for the tenth question!" which had the entire room's attention focused on him.

Naruto's head snapped up as he heard Ibiki speak and he put his whole focus into hearing the instructions.

'This is it.' Naruto thought.

"Now, there are a few new rules for this question," Ibiki said.

But before he could go on the door to the room opened and Kankuro walked back in with his Chunin escort.

"Heh, good timing, gaki. Was your playing with dolls beneficial?" Ibiki asked Kankurou and the said boy seemed to freeze for a second before resuming his march to his seat, though Naruto saw him pass a piece of folded paper to his sister as he passed her seat.

"Just sit down," Ibiki said.

After Kankurou was in his seat, Ibiki stood up and started pacing in front of the black board.

"I'll now explain the rules of desperation." Ibiki said.

Meanwhile in the Lounge, the three jounin teachers were seating, waiting.

"Man, it sure is boring without my team." Kakashi sighed.

"Don't worry, you'll be busy soon again." Asuma said as he let out a cloud of smoke from his cigarette.

"Why is that?" Kakashi asked.

"The proctor of the first exam is none other than Morino Ibiki." Asuma grinned.

"Not that sadist..." Kakashi sighed.

"Sadist? Who is he?" Kurenai asked, intrigued.

"Oh yeah I forgot, you're a recent jounin so your probably don't know. Anyway, they call him a pro." Kakashi said.

"A pro at what?" Kurenai asked.

"A pro at torture and interrogation." Asuma smirked as he blew another cloud of smoke.

"Huh? Torture and Interrogation?" Kurenai repeated.

"Don't worry, it's not physical but mental torture and interrogation so to speak so they won't expect physical torture during his test but they will experience some of his mental torture and interrogation skills." Kakashi explained.

"Do you think they'll survive?" Asuma asked.

"They will, especially Naruto." Kakashi said.

"Is that boy really as good as you say he is, Kakashi?" Kurenai asked.

"Let's just say, he takes after his old man, and if you knew his old man, you'll understand why Ibiki's tricks will never work on him." Kakashi said.

"Old man?" Asuma and Kurenai said, confused.

Back in the room, Ibiki started to describe the tenth question

"First, for this tenth question, you can choose to either take it or not." Ibiki said, causing confusion around the room.

"Choose? What happens if we choose not to?" Temari asked.

"If you choose not, then your points will be reduced to zero and you will fail, along with your teammates." Ibiki said with a glare.

"Then of course we'll take it!" Some of the other ninjas yelled out.

"And now the other rule.." Ibiki began to say with a smirk.

"Other rule? This guy is not messing around!' Sakura thought.

"If you choose to take it and answer it incorrectly, then that person will lose the right to ever participate in the Chunnin Exam again!" Ibiki revealed, shocking everyone.

"What kind of bullshit is that? There are guys here who have taken before!" Kiba yelled out but then froze when Ibiki started to laugh before glaring at everyone.

"You guys are unlucky. This year, it's my rules, you got that?" Ibiki said and then continued, "But I am willing to give you guys a way out. Choose not to take the question and you can try again next year." Ibiki said.

"So basically, if one of the three in a team decides not to take it, the whole team fails, and if they decide to take it and fail, then the whole team fails. It's basically a life or death situation, right Morino-san?" Naruto chuckled, and then glared at the proctor, "But in reality, there is no true tenth question, is there?" Naruto asked the proctor.

"What the hell is he talking about?" Everyone murmured except his teammates.

"What are you saying, kid? This is the tenth question." Ibiki glared at the boy.

"You see, the reason why I said there is no tenth question is because all this now is a way to test our decision-making skills. In fact, this whole exam was nothing but a simulation of what a chuunin has to do in order to complete their mission. First, they must gather the information they need in order to complete their mission and they must do so without getting caught, pretty much like how we had to cheat without getting caught because in real life, if you get caught, you're dead. Then, the second part is the decision-making that the leader of a squad must make when they are faced with a decison that will affect their mission, hence this tenth question. You are basically giving us the options and it's up to us to figure out which option is correct for this situation." Naruto explained.

'That kid! How did he...' The examiners thought as they were shocked by the kid's perception.

'That's Naruto-kun for ya.' Sakura thought as she and Sasuke knew the blond would pull through for them.

"So kid, what are you going to choose?" Ibiki asked with a grin.

"The obvious of course. I am going to take this so-called question no matter what it takes because in the end, sacrifices have to be made and in every mission, we have to put our lives, goals, and hopes on the line in order to succeed and this is what I intend to because I will become Hokage and no one will stand in my way, not you, not anyone, got that?" Naruto said with a stern look on his face. The people that were going to raise their hands did not as they were inspired by the blond.

'That kid, he's incredible. He not only saw through my tactics like they were child's play but also instilled confidence in everyone here. It looks like alot more people will go through the next round that I hoped.' Ibiki smirked mentally and then cleared his thoat and said, "All of you that stayed have passed this exam. What that boy said is correct, when you become chunnins, you will be faced with decisions that will either save you or kill you and you will have to choose. Hopefully, all have learned that lesson and use it in the future." Ibiki said.

With a loud crashing noise, a black blur shot through the window and unfurled itself infront of Ibiki. Two kunai shot into the ceiling, pulling two end of a large banner up as a woman in a khaki trench coat skidded to a stop. All the Genin were staring in shock.

"You guys, this is no time to be celebrating!" the woman yelled. Now everyone could see that she was dressed in a fishnet body suit that left little to the imagination and a khaki wrap skirt around her waist. Metal shin guards covered her lower legs and her hair put Sasuke's black spikes to shame.

"I am the examiner for the second test! Mitarashi Anko! Now let's go!" The woman yelled before she punched the air and bellowed, "Now follow me!"

'Dear god, anyone but her.' Naruto thought.

"Bad timing." Ibiki whispered, making the woman growl in embarassment.

'That woman acts just like Ino.' Sasuke thought and upon saying that shuddered at the thought of the blonde.

Seventy eight? Ibiki, you left twenty six teams? You're getting sloppy! The test was way to easy this time!" Anko said angrily.

"They had a great group leader," Ibiki said, his eyes flicking to Naruto for a second.

"Group leader?" Anko said and then looked to the direction of where Ibiki was looking and saw Naruto. Her eyes then sparkled and she immediately jumped and glomped.

"Naruto-kun!" Anko said.

"**NANI?!"** Sakura growled as fire began to engulf her and a scary look entered her face, scaring the other examinees.

"Get off me woman!" Naruto said as he tried to get the older but extremely attractive woman off him.

"What's the matter Naruto-kun, still can't handle mature woman like myself?" Anko grinned.

"Don't you have an exam to run?" Naruto asked.

"Oh yeah that's right! Oh well, we'll talk later." Anko winked at the flustered Naruto and then went back to the front of the classroom.

"Oh well, I'll cut them at least in half in the next test." All the Genin froze at this comment, but before they could say anything, Anko continued, "I'll explain everything once we've changed places, follow me!" She finished. All the genin followed Anko, leaving Ibiki to pick up the tests.

'That Naruto...he's gonna be a great ninja.' Ibiki smiled mentally.

Meanwhile, Anko lead the remaining Seventy Eight Genin to the entrance of one the few places forbidden by people.

"Welcome to the stage for the second test, practice area forty four, AKA 'The Forest of Death'!"Anko said with a wicked grin.

"Hmm, doesn't look like a forest of death to me, are you trying to scare us, Anko-san?" Naruto said. Then, a kuani flew toward him but he was able to dodge it before it hit him.

"Nice try, Anko." Naruto smirked as the older woman approached him.

"My my, you've gotten better than before." Anko said as she put her hands around his neck.

"You know that I can have you arrested for sexual harassment, right?" Naruto smirked at the woman.

"What's wrong, do I make you uncomfortable, Naruto-kun?" Anko asked in a seductive tone.

"GET OFF NARUTO-KUN NOW!" Sakura yelled to the older woman, catching her attention.

"We got a jealous one here. Oh well, I'm sure we'll get more chances to talk, Naruto-kun. And by the way, you've become more handsome than before. I can't wait until you're legal." Anko said, winking before walking away, leaving a very red Naruto and a fuming Sakura.

'Who does that woman think she is? NARUTO-KUN IS MINE, MINE!' Sakura growled mentally.

"Here's your kunai, miss." a long haired man with a wide straw hat whose Hitai-ate marked him as coming from Hidden Grass said as he handed the weapon back, which was held by his tongue.

"Why thank you, but you shouldn't sneak up on me like that or I might kill you." Anko laughed.

"I'm sorry but you did cut some of my precious hair." The man replied.

'**This guy smells like that Kabuto guy but much more malicious, Be careful around him."** Kyuubi warned Naruto.

'Understood.' Naruto mentally replied.

"Hey Naruto, how the hell do you know that lady?" Sasuke asked as he and every straight guy wanted to know how the blond got this smoking hot woman to be all over him.

"She saved me from some bullies one day and then I asked her to train me in shuriken training. For the attraction, I can blame that on my father's genes." Naruto explained and sighed.

"Now, before we start this exam, I want to pass something out. You must sign these agreement forms." Anko said.

"Why?" Sasuke asked.

"Because there will be deaths in this one, and if you don't sign these, then it will become my responsability." Anko grinned.

'As psychotic as usual.' Naruto thought.

'I am going to explain the second test and then I wll pass these papers and each team will check out at the booth over there and afterwards, you can sign the papers." Anko explained.

After the teams checked in the booth, Anko started to pass the papers.

"I will now explain this test. It's simply put, the ultimate survival test." Anko said.

'Survival? Man, this sucks.' Shikamaru thought as he got the papers.

"First, I'll explain the area in which this will take place. Around practice area forty four are exactly that number of locked gates. The Forest of Death is a perfect circle with a river flowing through it and a large tower in the center. The distance from each of the gates to the tower is about fifth teen kilometers. During the test in the forest, you will be asked to complete a certain task. Using your many weapons and jutsu, you will compete in a no hold, no rules, scroll battle!" Anko explained as she got out the map for the place. She then held up two scrolls One was white and had the kanji for heaven on it while the other was black and had the kanji for earth on it.

"You will be fighting for these two scrolls, the heaven and earth. There are seventy eight people here, meaning twenty six teams. Half of the teams will get the heaven scroll, and the other thirteen will get the earth scroll. To pass this test, your team must make it to the tower with both scrolls." Anko further explained.

"So thirteen teams will lose their scrolls, half of the teams will definitely lose," Sakura said.

Anko chuckled and said, "But there's a time limit. This test will take five days."

"Five days? What about dinner?" Chouji yelled desperately.

"You're on your own. The forest is full of food. Just watch out for the man-eating beasts, poisonous insects, and poisonous plants. And thirteen teams passing is not likely. As the days go on, the distance to the goal will become farther, and the time to rest will become shorter. And the area is crawling with enemies, you won't get much sleep. So not only will some fail by losing the scroll, but some will die from the harshness of the course." Anko answered with a grin.

"Now I'll talk about what will disqualify you. First those who don't make it to the tower, with both scrolls, within the time limit. Second, those who lose a team mate or those who have a team mate killed. As a rule, there is no quitting in the middle, you will be in the forest for the full five days. The third and most important rule is that you must never look inside the scroll until you make it to the tower." Anko said.

"What happens if we do open them?" Sasuke asked.

The expression on Anko's face turned sadistic as she said, "That will be a surprise for anyone who does. A Chunin will be asked to handle classified information. This is to test your loyalty and trustworthiness. That is it for explanations. Exchange your team's three forms for your scroll, then choose a gate to get ready for the start. A final word of advice, don't die."

Each team split off from the main group and discussed the situation between them selves One of the Chunin manning the scroll booth pulled a curtain up to cover the inside of the booth and said, "It's time to exchange for the scrolls."

Naruto glared at the Suna team as he watched them enter the booth. 'I see, so you can't tell which team has which scroll or who on the team is carrying the scroll. It's like I thought, in this test we will risk our lives fighting for information. Everyone here is an enemy and determined. There will be killing,' he thought.

"The second test of the Chunin Exam begins NOW!" Anko yelled. All the gates burst open as the genin charged into the forest.

A team of genin from an unknown village were running through the forest when they suddenly stopped as they spotted Team 8.

"So basically everyone is heading tower, right? Then setting traps would the best option for us." Kiba said and the other two nodded.

"They're here." Hinata said as she spotted the team with her Byakugan.

"Hey already, where are they, Hinata?" Kiba asked with a grin.

"Heh, kids standing in the open like that. Do they want to be found? Hmm, oh crap, one of them has the..." the leader said but then before he could finish his sentence, he stopped talking and started to turn blue as if something had happened to him.

"Hey, why are you turning blue?" The one who was standing upside down asked when he suddenly saw a leech-type creature in the back of the other's neck.

"What the hell is that?" He asked and then he and the others screamed as they saw leeches fall from the sky.

"Life Village jumping leeches will sense any life form and attack in a group. Five minutes of sucking and you'll be in the next world. As soon as you realize that, it's quite easy to set up traps." Shino explained.

"Alright, one down!" Kiba hollered.

"Sounds like it started." Anko said as she overheard the screams.

Meanwhile, Team 7 stopped as they heard the scream.

"You guys heard that?" Sakura asked.

"That was the scream of a human. It looks like someone got trapped or beaten." Naruto said. He then looked at the bushes and grinned.

"I'm going to handle my number #1 over there. I'll be right back." Naruto said and walked over there. A few minutes later, he comes back with a Amekagure shinobi with a kunai in the back over his shoulder and then dropped him to the ground.

"So I guess that number #1 was just a ploy to draw out the enemy, huh?" Sasuke said.

"I sensed him nearby and figured he would try to get the jump on whoever he wanted so I made myself looked like a bait." Naruto explained.

"Guys, I have an idea." Sakura said and the two boys turned to her, "Since teams may try to disguise themselves as us to get the drop on us in case we get separated, we should come up with a code word." Sakura suggested.

"Not a bad idea, Sakura, what do you have in mind?" Sasuke asked.

"How about our goals, like what we told Kakashi-sensei, but one of us has to make sure to leave an important detail out." Naruto whispered.

"Why are you whispering, Naruto...unless we're being spied on, right?" Sasuke said, and narrowed his eyes when Naruto nodded.

"Okay then, we'll do it that way. My dream is to become a medic-nin and strong kunoichi." Sakura said.

"My goals are to defeat Itachi and revive my clan." Sasuke said.

"My goal is to become Hokage." Naruto said, volunteering to be the one that left out their key information.

Suddenly, a huge wind blows over them, and then Naruto found himself being swept away.

"Naruto!" Sakura and Sasuke yelled and then they felt being swept over as well and all of Team 7 were separated.

"Damn that hurt." Sasuke said as he recovered from the wind technique. He then saw Sakura appear and took out his kunai, "What's the code word?" Sasuke asked.

"My dream is to become a medic-nin and strong kunoichi." Sakura said and Sasuke smirked, knowing it was her.

"Sakura, Sasuke, are you guys alright?" Naruto said as he arrived.

"Wait a minute Naruto, the password." Sasuke asked.

"Simple. My goal is to become Hokage." Naruto smirked but then dodged out of the way when Sasuke threw his kunai, "What is wrong with you Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"You're no Naruto, you bastard. Naruto's true goals are to become Hokage and revive his Namikaze-Uzumaki Clan. Naruto spotted you spying earlier and decided that one of us should not tell the complete truth about our goals and he elected to be that person. Now, who the hell are you?" Sasuke explained before getting his stance.

"Kukukukukuku, impressive." the Fake Naruto said. before a cloud of smoke hid him from view. When the smoke dispersed, Hinata and Sasuke were facing the long tongued Grass shinobi. "Now, let's have some fun." he added as he removed his straw hat.

"I don't mind being hit by a jutsu but when someone hits me with a wind jutsu, that pisses me off." Naruto growled as he got back up from the attack.

"And now I lost Sakura and Sasuke." Naruto said as he could not find his teammates anywhere.

He then started to walk when he suddenly felt something behind him and as soon as he turned around, a huge snake swallowed. The snake laid down for a while but then was suddenly rip to pieces from inside as a huge gust of wind blasted from his body.

"Now, I'm really pissed." Naruto growled as he got out of the snake. He then headed for his friends.

"Kankurou, Temari. You guys go on without me, there's something I want to check out." Gaara said with a smile and when the other two nodded, he then left in a gust of sand.

"You want my earth scroll, right? Since you guys have the heaven scroll." The man said before swallowing it whole, shocking the genins.

"Now let's begin the battle for each other's scroll," he began to say as he reached up to his face before he pulled his skin down to reveal a yellow snake eye. "With our lives on the line!" He finished to say and then Sasuke and Sakura both felt enormous killing intent, worse than when they first met Zabuza, pounding on them as their deaths shot through their minds.

"S..Sakura, is that genjutsu?" Sasuke asked as he struggled to stand up while Sakura fell on all fours.

"No...it's not. I tried to cancel it but I couldn't." Sakura answered.

"Then this is just the intent to kill. His is so great that it caused us to see images of our deaths. Who is this guy?" Sasuke asked as he could no longer stand and fell to the ground.

"Hmm, it seems you two can no longer move." The grass shinobi smirked and then pulled his kunais and threw them.

'Move, move!' Sasuke thought as he took out his kunai. He then stabbed himself to undo the paralysis and then quickly grab Sasuke and quickly headed away from the man.

'I see, he hurt himself in order to move again. He'll make an excellent prey.' The man smiled in his head.

Naruto was running at high speed through the forest in order to get to his friends when he suddenly stop as he saw someone appear a few feet ahead of him.

"Gaara." Naruto said.

"It's nice to meet you again, Namikaze Naruto." Gaara said with a smile.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked, as Gaara was the last person he wanted to face.

"I sensed your jutsu and saw that you've gotten much stronger from last time which is good because as of right now, Naruto, I really want to kill you." Gaara said and licked his lips.

Sasuke and Sakura were hidden in a tree a short distance away, both ready for an attack.

"Sasuke, are you all right?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke nodded, looking back in the direction they had come from for signs of pursuit. Sakura heard a noise and saw a giant snake near them.

"Sasuke! A snake!" Sakura yelled out.

Sasuke turned around and saw the snake and both quickly leaped out of the way.

"I was so distracted that I couldn't even hear it coming? Damn it, I have to get a hold of myself!" Sasuke growled and then tossed a couple of shurikens at the snake.

"Ninpou! Sakura No Mai! (Ninja Art: Dance of the Blossoms!)" Sakura yelled out and then some of her hair turn into petals that quickly carve up the snake.

Sasuke and Sakura both breathed a sigh of relief until a part of the snake's neck started to rise. Both genin watched in horror as the snake's skin split and the Grass shinobi rose out of the carcass.

"You guys shouldn't relax for even a moment. Prey should always be trying their best to run away, in the presence of a predator, that is," said the Grass shinobi and licked his lips.

Two monsters have cornered our heroes in order to devour them! Next, My name is Orochimaru.

As always, read and review! Ja ne!


	8. My name is Orochimaru

Author's Note: Naruto nor the characters of the story belong to me unfortunately and belong rather to Kishimoto Masashi. All I am doing is writing another version of his story according to my creative vision.

Wow! 28 reviews for 7 chapters? That's more than I expected but it shows that I'm doing something good.

Oboro-Kun: Yes, I did use your idea because it was such a good one and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Thanks man.

Saetan: I forgot about that whole knowledge transfer thing but I was such on a roll that I didn't think to look back to see if I did right, sorry.

Time for the story!

Previously on Namikaze Hokage...

Naruto was running at high speed through the forest in order to get to his friends when he suddenly stop as he saw someone appear a few feet ahead of him.

"Gaara." Naruto said.

"It's nice to meet you again, Namikaze Naruto." Gaara said with a smile.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked, as Gaara was the last person he wanted to face.

"I sensed your jutsu and saw that you've gotten much stronger from last time which is good because as of right now, Naruto, I really want to kill you." Gaara said and licked his lips.

Sasuke and Sakura were hidden in a tree a short distance away, both ready for an attack.

"Sasuke, are you all right?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke nodded, looking back in the direction they had come from for signs of pursuit. Sakura heard a noise and saw a giant snake near them.

"Sasuke! A snake!" Sakura yelled out.

Sasuke turned around and saw the snake and both quickly leaped out of the way.

"I was so distracted that I couldn't even hear it coming? Damn it, I have to get a hold of myself!" Sasuke growled and then tossed a couple of shurikens at the snake.

"Ninpou! Sakura No Mai! (Ninja Art: Dance of the Blossoms!)" Sakura yelled out and then some of her hair turn into petals that quickly carve up the snake.

Sasuke and Sakura both breathed a sigh of relief until a part of the snake's neck started to rise. Both genin watched in horror as the snake's skin split and the Grass shinobi rose out of the carcass.

"You guys shouldn't relax for even a moment. Prey should always be trying their best to run away, in the presence of a predator, that is," said the Grass shinobi and licked his lips.

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 8: My name is Orochimaru

"Alert second test examiner Mitarashi Anko. Tell her we got a situation here." Said one of the chuunin examiners as they found three dead bodies near some Buddha statues.

"Yes." Another one with glasses replied and then left.

"Those three dead bodies, what the hell do you think may have happened?" Another said.

"Whatever it was, it's definitely going to cause some problems." The one who found the bodies replied as he scratched the back of his head.

"Yum, nothing is better than dango and juice. Now, once I'm done, I think I'll head back to the tower since in this program, the faster ones will be done in 24 hours." Anko said. She then threw a senbon into the three and then said, "Leaf Village Mark complete." as the senbons she threw over time looked like the leaf village's mark.

"Big trouble, Anko-sama." The examiner with glasses said as he arrived.

"What is it?" Anko asked.

"Bodies...three of them and they don't look normal either. You have to come!" The examiner replied

Anko nodded and before left to go to the crime scene.

"After examining their papers and personal items, they seem to be the Kusakagure shinobis that entered this exam and you can see, they have no faces, as if they were melted off." The one that found them explained.

'No mistaking it, this jutsu is his but why is he here, at the exam?' Anko asked in her head.

"Show me the picture of these three!" Anko ordered and when the examiners did, she immediately recognized the one she saw back when she was instructing the genins.

'So at that time, he was already there.' Anko thought.

"This is bad! Report this to the Hokage immediately!" Anko ordered.

"Huh?" The examiners said.

"Send some ANBU captains to the forest of death! I'm going after them right now." Anko said.

"Who the hell are you? What the fuck do you want with us?" Sasuke asked.

"My my, what a potty mouth." The Kusa-nin said.

"Answer me!" Sasuke yelled.

"I simply want your scroll and your life, boy." The man answered.

"You want our scroll, is that it? Well, you can have it then." Sasuke said, shocking Sakura.

"Sasuke, are you insane? If we give him the scroll then we'll never pass the exam!" Sakura yelled at the Uchiha.

"Shut the hell up, Sakura! If we don't give it to him, he'll just kill us and then we'll never get another chance!" Sasuke yelled, and then was about to give the scroll when he suddenly began to reminisce.

_Flashback:_

"Why, aniki? Why did you kill everyone for?" 8-year old Sasuke asked his older brother Itachi, who was dressed in his anbu uniform.

"Because...I wanted to test my capacity." Itachi replied without an hint of emotion.

_End Flashback:_

"To test his capacity...that's why he killed them all. How can I hope to make him pay for killing them if I simply give up in the face of death." Sasuke said.

"What are you saying?" The Kusa-nin smirked.

"What I'm saying is that I have a goal and that is to kick his ass, and if it means going through you, then I will fight you!" Sasuke said, and then gave the scroll to his teammate, "Sakura! I want you to leave now and find Naruto and get the scrolls we need to pass." Sasuke said.

"No way, let me stay and help, I'm not weak." Sakura protested.

"This isn't about that, it's about doing what is needed to move on. Right now, finding Naruto and getting the scrolls are more important. If you stay here, then you are more likely to die as well." Sasuke replied.

"What about you? I won't abandon my teammate." Sakura said, refusing to leave.

"Listen, this is my decision, and besides, I don't plan on dying. Now, go find Naruto and get the scrolls, please Sakura." Sasuke pleaded. Sakura gripped the scroll and nodded before leaving.

"So, you decided to stay in order to stall me? How noble of you." The Kusa-nin said, 'It looks like I will be able to test his abilities after all.' The Kusa nin said mentally.

"Whatever, let's just dance." Sasuke said with his Sharingan flaring and two tomoes and then started to hop like Bruce Lee and then disappeared and reappeared behind the Kusa-nin and threw a punch but the nin caught it and threw him.

Sasuke recovered and then rushed toward the nin and threw a volley of punches to which he blocked. The Kusa-nin retaliated with a roundhouse kick but Sasuke was one step ahead and knocked him in the air with his right leg and then went up and perform his Shi Shi Rendan, but instead of using the final attack on the nin's stomach, he used it on his neck, and basically slammed him hard on the ground, breaking his neck. Or so it would seem as the kusa-nin turned into mud.

"Kawarini!" Sasuke gasped. Then the real kusa-nin ran up behind him and punched him in the face, sending him to a tree.

"My, my, Sasuke. I hoped that wasn't all you could do." The kusa-nin said as he walked toward the boy but then an explosion occured near his legs, causing him to stumble.

'What the? He must have put explosive notes when I struck him!' The kusa-nin thought.

"Now you're mine! Uchiharyu: Shoryuu! (Uchiha Style: Rising Dragon)" Sasuke said and then punches the kusa-nin extremely hard in the stomach twice that makes the kusa-nin cough out some spit and follows by a rising punch to the chin (basically Ryu's Shin Shoryuken for you SF fans), lifting both in the air.

"Ryuu Senpuu!" Sasuke yells and then delivers his version of the Konoha Senpuu, knocking the kusa-nin to a tree. He then takes out some wires and quickly pins the kusa-nin to the tree.

'A sharingan triple windmill attack!' The kusa-nin thought.

"Katon: Ryuuka No Jutsu! (Fire Element: Fire Dragon Technique)" Sasuke yelled, and then shot flames that advanced through the wires and struck the nin, making him scream in agony.

' I did it, it's all over now.' Sasuke thought as he breathed heavily.

But unfortunately, he was wrong as the kusa-nin freed himself from the wires and then did a seal, and Sasuke began to scream in agony.

'How did he survive all this? He should be dead.' Sasuke said in disbelief in his head.

"You're definitely worthy of the Uchiha blood, and you're definitely his brother. In fact, I might say that you eyes are keener than his." The kusa-nin said, with a part of his face melted off, oddily enough revealing a gray-skinned face.

"Who the hell are you? What do you want?" Sasuke asked he struggled to shrug off the paralysis technique.

"My name is Orochimaru, and as to what I want, it will have to wait." Orochimaru said.

"Then leave me alone!" Sasuke roared.

"Oh, but of course, but before I leave, let me give you a parting gift, Sasuke-kun." Orochimaru grinned and then did a seal and his neck stretched up toward Sasuke and then bit him on the neck, making the boy yell in pain. When He finished, he retreated his neck, and a mark appeared near the bite mark. Then, Sasuke yelled in pain and stumbled on his knees.

"What did you to me?" Sasuke asked as he was in terrible pain.

"Like I said, I left you a parting gift, a gift that will make you come to me, in search of power." Orochimaru explained.

"Fuck you if you think I'll ever come to you for power." Sasuke growled.

"Oh but you will, Sasuke. It's in your soul. Hmm, until next time, Sasuke-kun. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha." Orochimaru said and then laughed as he melted into the ground. Sasuke then began to howl in pain and was about to fall into unconsciousness but before he did, he heard someone say, "yare yare dase."

"K...Kyo-senpai." Sasuke said and then fell unconscious.

Sakura was running in the forest when suddenly, she stopped as she heard Sasuke's scream.

"Sasuke. I have to hurry and find Naruto-kun before it's too late." Sakura said and then sped up.

"I don't have time for this! Now move!" Naruto said to the sand boy.

"I'm sorry but I just can't do that. You see, I came all this way just to kill you, Naruto. It would be a bad idea to leave like that without tasting your blood. Besides, what's the rush?" Gaara asked.

"I don't have time to mess with you! I have to find my nakama." Naruto exclaimed .

"Nakama? Why look for your nakama?" Gaara asked confused.

"Because they might be in danger and need my help, that's why!" Naruto growled, getting irritated by this sand shinobi.

"Well then, if you're nakama are in danger then that means they're weak, and if they're weak then they should die." Gaara smiled.

"What did you just say?" Naruto asked angrily as he clenched his fists.

"Well, it is true. In this world, only the strong live and those who are weak deserve to die, it's really that simple Naruto." Gaara said.

"How can you say such nonsense? What about your teammates! Don't they mean anything to you?" Naruto asked, a bit unnerved by this boy.

"I never had any friends ever since the day I was born. These so-called teammates or siblings of mine are nothing more than mere pawns that I need for this test." Gaara replied coldly.

"What is wrong with you?" Naruto asked.

'Wrong with me? I should ask what's wrong with you. You're strong and yet you want to protect those weaker than you. I just don't get it, especially when you are a jinchuuriki." Gaara said.

"Jinchuuriki? How did you know that?" Naruto asked.

"How? That's because I'm a Jinchuuriki as well and we Jinchuuriki can smell each other hence why I want to kill you. I want to prove that I am the stronger Jinchuuriki, simple as that." Gaara explained.

'So not only is he crazy and strong but also a container like myself?' Naruto said mentally.

"Now come on, all this talk is boring me. I want you to fight me now, Naruto." Gaara said, and then took the cork from his gourd, and then sand started to leak from it.

'He's not going to let me go until I fight him. Guess I have no choice.' Naruto concluded mentally, "Alright, I will fight you." Naruto said, and then did his seal for the Kage Bushin and then spawned 10 clones, who all headed toward Gaara.

"Too easy. Suna Shuriken" Gaara smirked and then small sand spikes headed toward the clones and struck them. But then Gaara's eyes widened as he saw Naruto finishing his seals for his jutsu.

"Fuuton: Kaze Ha Otoshi No Jutsu!" Naruto yelled out and then shot his wind blast technique at Gaara but the latter smirked and then his sand comes up in front of him and blocks Naruto's attack.

'What in the world? His sand just came up on its own and blocked his attack? Is that an ultimate defense?' Naruto asked mentally.

"Is that all?" Gaara asked.

"No. Fuuton: Rokujyuu Kaze Ha! (Wind Element: 64 wind waves!)" Naruto yelled and then did his Kaze Ha Otoshi sixty four times, unleashing sixty four blasts, but Gaara's sand blocks all of them.

"So that sand of yours, is it an ultimate defense?" Naruto asked.

"Hmm, you can say that since it protects me from all attacks." Gaara said.

"No defense is invincible, I'll find a way to break it! Fuuton: Shippu Ha No Jutsu (Wind Element: Hurricane Wave Technique)!" Naruto yells out and unleashes a high-speed hurricane at Naruto from his right fist at Gaara.

'That technique! My sand won't be able to block it completely.' Gaara said as he prepared to block the attack. The attack then struck Gaara and then make a huge explosion, taking out many trees.

"Did I get him?" Naruto asked.

The smoke cleared and Gaara stood, but his face was crumbling to the floor like sand for some reason and then his face looked clean again.

"What in the world?" Naruto asked, shocked.

"That was pretty good Naruto but not good enough. Now, it's my turn. Sand Spikes!" Gaara said and then spiked sand rose toward Naruto who jumps back to avoid them but then Gaara smirked and turned the spiked sand into a fist that punched Naruto right in the gut, knocking him into a tree.

"Eat this!" Gaara said and then multiple sand fists rose from the ground and then started to punch Naruto all over his body, making him cough blood.

Now, to finish this. Sabaku Kyuu." Gaara said and then sand fists wrap around Naruto.

"Now, let me your blood, Naruto! Sabaku Sou..." Gaara began to say but then was kicked hard by someone, and sent crashing down. Naruto, unconscious now, was about to fall to the ground when he was suddenly picked up by someone wearing a black cloak.

"Who's there?" Gaara roared as he stood back up angrily only to find himself alone.

"No! Where is my prey? My prey?!" Gaara roared.

"Gaara!" Temari said as she and Kankurou arrived on the scene.

"We've got the scrolls, Gaara. We can go back to the tower." Kankurou said.

"Hmm, it seems you guys are not as useless as I previously thought. Alright let's go, besides, I already had my fun." Gaara said with as wicked smile and then started to walk, followed by his sibilings.

'What does he mean by that? Did he already kill someone?' Kankurou asked mentally.

The person with the black cloak was traveling fast around the forest with Naruto in their arms when they suddenly run past Sakura.

'Hey, that was Naruto-kun?" Sakura said, and then changed course to follow that person, "Hey wait, that's my teammate!" Sakura said. The cloaked person then stopped and turned around to face Sakura.

"So he is your teammate? That's good to hear, he needs medical attention as soon as possible." The person said and juding by their voice, it was a female as old as Kurenai.

"What happened to him?" Sakura asked as she was horrified to see Naruto like this as he was covered with bruises all over his body.

"He was fighting an opponent that proved too difficult for him but don't worry, he's still alive." The woman said to reassure the girl.

"Thank you very much miss, but who are you?" Sakura asked.

"You'll find out another time." The woman said and then ran off.

"Naruto-kun don't worry, I'll take care of you but first, we have to find Sasuke. I hope he's okay." Sakura said as she thought back to her teammate, and then headed back to where he was.

'So, that was your son huh, big sister.' The girl said mentally.

'Why, why is here?' Anko asked mentally as she ran through the forest while Orochimaru was resurfacing from the a tree.

'He's close, I can feel him.' Anko thought as she sped up. She then then arrived at the spot where Orochimaru resurfaced.

"Ah, Anko. It's so nice to see you after all those years." Orochimaru said.

"This is no time to reminisce. You're an S-class missing-nin and it's fitting that I am the one to finish you off since after all, you're the one who taught me everything."Anko smirked.

"Now, that's amusing." Orochimaru replied, getting a rise out of the girl as she took out three needles. She was about to throw them when Orochimaru shot out his ridiculous tongue. She was able to avoid by jumping out of the way but then it reached her and grabbed the hand in which she was holding the needles and pulled her down but she was able to land on her feet.

"Sei'jasu (Hidden Snake Hands)" Anko yelled and then snakes materialized from inside the sleeve out of her trapped arm and then headed toward Orochimaru and grabbed him and she then pulled him back and smacked him into the tree and placed her left hand on his right hand and pinned it to the tree by stabbing through with a kunai.

"Ah I got you. Now, let me borrow that hand out of your for just a sec." Anko grinned and then used Orochimaru's left hand and started to do seals with it using her right hand along with his left hand.

"That hand seal..." Orochimaru said as he recognized it.

"That's right, you and I are going to die together. Ninpou: Twin Snake Sacrifice..." Anko began to say but was cut off by the laughing of Orochimaru.

"What's so funny?" Anko asked.

"What's so funny is that you will die alone, Anko my dear." Orochimaru said as he then turned into mud.

"That was my kawarini." Orochimaru said as he appeared behind Anko and then took off the face he was using, revealing his real one. He then started to laugh at her misfortune, "Of course, you're one of the elites now, huh? Would look bad if you were using a technique I taught you." Orochimaru said as he walked toward her.

Anko takes her kunai out of her hand and throws at Orochimaru, who catches it between his two fingers. Orochimaru then smirked and does a seal, and Anko falls to the ground as she was clutching something on her neck.

"Why are you here? Are you here to assassinate Hokage-sama?" Anko asked.

"Killing that old geezer will take more followers. I came here for something more simplistic. You see, I heard that Uchiha Sasuke, the last of his clan, was participating at this year's exam and thus I just had to see him for more own eyes. When I did, I was so impressed that I decided to mark him with the curse seal." Orochimaru replied.

"The curse seal? Are you insane? That boy won't survive!" Anko said.

"That is true, there is only a 2 chance that anyone can survive the seal but that boy will definitely survive because his need for revenge will allow him to. What's the matter, are you jealous, jealous that this boy has more potential than you? Are you still sad that I threw you away like trash, huh Anko?" Orochimaru asked.

"You won't get away with this!" Anko said.

"And what will you do about it? Hmm, don't worry, I am not going to do anything else for now, however, if the Hokage or anyone decides to cancel this exam, I will attack this village and destroy it. Hmm, until next time, Anko." Orochimaru said and then disappeared, leaving Anko all by herself.

In one clearing, Neji, Tenten, and Lee were relaxing slightly. '

"The sun should be up in less than an hour," Neji said and then continued, "We've spent a day gathering provisions to supplement what was in our packs. Most teams are resting, making this the best time to attack and steal their scrolls. Let's split up and spend 20 minutes scouting the area. But, whether you find another team or not, we return here in 30 minutes, got it?" Neji finished talking and he stabbed a kunai into the ground point first.

"Okay," Tenten said.

"Roger!" Lee said as he saluted Neji. All three of the genin leapt off in different directions.

Meanwhile, Team 7 were in another clearing not too far from Neji's team. Sakura had put the two boys on the ground in a small cave-like entrance so that they could rest while she looked over them.

'What happened to Sasuke? And who were those two?' Sakura asked herself mentally as she remembered finding Sasuke on the floor and a guy who looked like him but older sitting next to him, smoking. That man nodded and then disappeared. Then there was also that woman she found when looking for Naruto.

'If only I was strong enough, then maybe those two wouldn't have been so badly injured.' Sakura thought.

On the edge of the clearing, three figures peered over the bushes at Team Seven. The sound nin trio had finally found their targets.

"Heh heh, there they are!" Dosu said, the one with the bandages, "As Orochi-sama commanded, we attack at daybreak. Our target is Uchiha Sasuke!"

"If the other two get in our way we can kill them, right?" Zaku, the other boy asked.

"Of course," Dosu replied.

Dawn broke over and Sakura was a bit dweary but still awake. She had healed the boys of their wounds and they were both sleeping peacefully. She then suddenly heard a rustling sound, and took out her kunai in case of danger, only to find a squirrel.

"Hmm, only a squirrel. Huh?" Sakura said as she noticed coming over. She then frowned and threw a kunai at the squirrel, making it stop and go back.

'Someone planted an explosive on that squirrel but who?' Sakura said mentally.

"I thought for sure that would have worked. Did you think she saw it?" Zaku growled.

"No, that's not it," Dosu said.

"What do you mean, Dosu?" Zaku asked.

"We'll probably find out when we get closer, so, let's go!" Dosu said as he cleared the bushes in front of him and then they jumped in.

"Who are you two?" Sakura asked.

"Us? There's no need for you to know who we are, all we want is Sasuke." Dosu said.

"Sasuke? Why, what do you want with him?" Sakura asked as she prepared to defend her comrade.

"Our master, Orochimaru, told us to find Sasuke and fight and to kill anyone who gets in your way which means you little girl. So, if you don't to die, move." Zaku said.

"Why don't you make me, asshole?" Sakura smirked.

"That's it, I'm going to kill her then Sasuke." Zaku said and started to walk toward her when Dosu stopped him.

"Wait Zaku," Dosu told his teammate.

"Huh? Why?" Zaku asked.

Dosu walked forward and knelt down. "You're not very good, a recently overturned stone, different colored dirt, grass were it would never grow," he said as he felt the ground. Sakura froze as Dosu lifted up a part of the ground and continued, "A booby trap is pointless unless it goes unnoticed."

"Pft, stupid," Zaku smirked.

"So the kunai you threw earlier was to keep the squirrel from springing the trap?" Dosu asked. "Kill her!" He ordered.

All three sound shinobi leapt into the air, at which point Sakura's face grew a smirk that. With a quick flick of Sakura's kunai, a wire was severed and a giant log swung down towards the shinobi in mid-air.

"Another trap above? No!" Dosu exclaimed. As the log swung closer, the bandaged shinobi slammed his arm with the metal device on it against the log. With a loud BAM, the log exploded before it could hit the three sound shinobi, causing Sakura to gasp. She hadn't thought sound waves could be so powerful.

"Frankly speaking, you have very little talent. People like you have to work harder. A weakling like you shouldn't mess with guys like us!" yelled Dosu.

"Hmm, actually, I have more talent than you think." Sakura smirked.

Then, all three ninjas found themselves in Sakura's Senbonzakura genjutsu.

"What? A genjutsu? That means those traps were just diversions in order for her to activate her genjutsu! That girl's tougher than she looks." Dosu said and they then cancel the genjutsu.

"Ninpou: Senbonzakura No Mai" Sakura yells out and then 1000 cherry petals head toward the trio.

"Like petals are going to hurt us." Zaku smirked.

"Zaku! Those aren't normal petals! Blast them now!" Dosu warned as he saw some of the petals cut through the trees.

Zaku nodded immediately formed the hand seals for his attack as he yelled, "Zankuuha (Air slicing blast)!" and a powerful gust of wind shot out of his palms, blasted the petals away and slammed Sakura into a tree trunk. The girl pulled herself out of the tree and shook her head to clear it. The trio were about to advance on her when Lee appeared and kicked all three of them before landing in front of Sakura.

"Who the hell are you?" The girl named Kin asked.

"My name is Rock Lee, the green beast of Konoha." Lee said.

"Lee? What are you doing here?" Sakura asked confused.

"I was on my way to get some scrolls for my team when I heard noises of fighting around here, and then I saw you fighting them and I knew that I could not let a fellow comrade all by herself and thus I decided to come and help you, Sakura-san." Lee explained.

"Thank you Lee but I don't need your help." Sakura said.

"No Sakura, allow me to help you please. Let me prove myself as a worthy comrade." Lee said.

"Zaku, you get to kill Sasuke while I handle that taijutsu guy with the freaky eyebrows." Dosu said as he handed Zaku the scroll, and then dashed for Lee. Sakura threw a kunai but Dosu jumped out of the way.

'Alright Gai-sensei, I have found someone to protect and therefore will use this technique, the Lotus.' Lee thought as he undid his bandages. Lee then disappeared and reappeared below Dosu and kicked him into the air like Sasuke does for his Shi Shi Rendan. Once Dosu is in the air, Lee then performs the Kage Buyou and wraps Dosu around his bandages, and then starts to go down spinning.

"Oh no Dosu. There's no way he can break his fall." Zaku said and then performed seals for his technique.

"Omote Renge." Lee said. and then slammed Dosu to the ground or so it would seem as Zaku was able to perform his technique on time and cushion Dosu's fall.

"Looks like I got you just in time. That would have been a hard fall if it wasn't for me." Zaku grinned.

"What? No, that cannot be." Lee said, breathing hard as he saw Dosu get himself off the ground and shook himself off.

"That's one frightening technique you got there kid, nearly took me out even though I landed on this soft dirt. Now, it's my turn." Dosu said as he prepared his gauntlet.

"Oh no! My body has not recovered from the Lotus yet." Lee said mentally, fatigued.

Dosu then ran toward Lee and swiped his hand and even though Lee, he started to feel some distortion in him.

"Lee!" Sakura said.

"Your jutsu is fast but ours are even faster because they travel at the speed of sound so yours are useless. Now, let us show you the wall that hard work cannot overcome." Dosu said and his teammates grinned. He then saw blood coming Lee's ears and smirked, "You see, my gauntlet allows me to send vibrations to any part of your body. Being able to ear something means your eardrum catches the vibration in the air, and the human eardrum will shatter at anything above 150 decibels, causing the opponent to lose his sense of balance, disabling your movement for a little." Dosu explained.

"Your outdated taijutsu will not work on us. It work for a little while but not anymore and I already showed you my technique. I can control supersonic waves and air pressure and I'm capable of destroying a rock. I can alo send air to the ground and make it cushion like I did to stop your technique." Zaku smirked as he explained and then underneath his arms were two small holes that shot out air.

"Damn it." Lee thought

Dosu then ran toward Lee and threw a punch with his gauntlet and even though Lee blocked it, he was still affected by the vibrations.

"Even if you block my attack, my gauntlet implifies the vibrations, like a speaker. Also, I can add my chakra into it and send it to another target, thus not limiting myself to my hand only." Dosu laughed.

'Why do people have to get hurt to protect me? Why can't I help them?' Sakura thought as she remembered when others used to protect her from bullies when she was little.

'**If you don't want them to get hurt, then let me have some fun." **Inner Sakura said and then Sakura slumped to the floor.

"Sakura!" Lee said while gritting in pain.

Sakura then got back up and started to laugh, startling everyone.

"What's so funny, you little bitch?" Dosu asked.

Sakura then lifted her head and everyone was shocked as this Sakura had a wilder, meaner looking face then before.

"Nothing, just thinking about how I'm going to kick your ass." Sakura said and then punched Dosu right in the face, so hard that it sent him crashing him to a tree.

"Sakura?" Lee gasped.

"This is so much fun!" Sakura laughed.

"Why you little bitch!" Zaku roared and prepared for his technique and then unleashed.

"How dull. Sakuraheki (Blossom Wall)" Sakura yawned and then a wall of blossom petals blocked the wave.

"No way! She blocked them with her tiny petals!" Zaku growled in disbelief.

"What the hell is she?" Kin asked.

"Your worst nightmare. Ninpou: Sho-Sakura-Satsu (Rising Blossom Murder)" Sakura said and then a wave of highly sharp blossom petals rose from the ground, cutting Zaku in multiple places, not killing him but knocking him out cold.

"Zaku!" Kin said, and turned back to look at Sakura, only to see the girl right in front of her, "Stay back!" Kin yelled out and tried to hit her with her kunai but Sakura caught with her right hand.

"Now scream for me." Sakura smirked evilly and then did a seal and Kin started to scream for a while and then went down unconscious. Sakura then clutched her head in pain.

"W...what happened?" Sakura asked.

"What do you mean what happened? You do not remember?" Lee asked.

"No I don't. One moment I was on the ground and the next all three of these sound nins are on the ground beaten up." Sakura said.

'She really don't remember.' Lee thought in surprise.

"S...Sakura." Naruto said as he started to wake up and so did Sasuke.

"Naruto-kun! Sasuke!" Sakura said happily as she saw her teammates wake up.

"What the hell happened? Where am I?" Sasuke asked as he looked around. He then remembered that Kyo was here and looked around but he was nowhere.

"Where is he? Where's Kyo-senpai?" Sasuke asked.

"And how come Gaara isn't here? Where are we Sakura and what did happen here?" Naruto asked.

"Sasuke, we were ordered to fight you but your teammate proved to be too strong. Next time, we will make sure she does not interfere." Dosu said as he took his teammates and then left, leaving two startled boys.

"I don't know what happened. One minute they were about to beat us and then they are on the ground, I really don't know what happened. As for your questions, a woman rescued you Naruto and brought me to you and as for you Sasuke, I found you where you left me and there was a man there. He saw me and then disappeared." Sakura explained.

"I see," Sasuke nodded and then went touch the part of his neck where Orochimaru has bitten but he didn't feel anything, 'Kyo-senpai must have taken care of that curse.' Sasuke said mentally.

"Hmm, Lee, why are you here?" Naruto asked.

"I saw Sakura-san in danger and tried to help her." Lee answered.

"And then you ended up getting beat up." Ten-Ten said as she and Neji were up in a tree.

"Hey guys. How did you know I was here?" Lee asked.

"We never saw you back at our original hideout and so we started to look for you and found you here using my Byakugan. Now come on, let's go, we have the scrolls we need. By the way Sasuke, it looks a girl had to save your sorry ass." Neji said to Lee and the last part to the Uchiha with a smirk.

"Shove it, Neji." Sasuke growled.

"Alright then fellow comrades, I will see you later and Sakura, thank you for saving me. I owe you my life." Lee said.

"No...No problem. " Sakura said, still oblivious as to what she did or her other self did.

Ten-Ten helped Lee get back up and then they and Neji headed back.

"Alright then, let's get the last scrolls so we can pass this test." Naruto said and the others nodded.

On their way, they met Kabuto, and with his help, they were able to overcome the genjutsu of a rain ninja team and able to get the scrolls needed to pass this test. Though despite helping them, Naruto still had some suspicions about Kabuto (AN: Sorry if I am being lazy about this part but I really didn't feel like writing it. It's pretty much like in the original to be honest) They finally found the tower and found Kabuto's two team mates waiting. "You're late, Kabuto," said one, who wore Shino like sunglasses over his eyes.

"We ran into some trouble, sorry," Kabuto said as he scratched the back of his head.

"But it was thanks to you that we were aware of those ambushes and were able to anticipate them!" Sakura said.

"No, it was all thanks to you three, that we got through those so easily. You and Sasuke were really great at the end, Naruto," Kabuto said

"We are going through this door," Kabuto said to the genins,

"Good luck to all of you!" Sakura said to Kabuto's team, and the two teams separated.

"How was the harvest?" a voice asked once the door had closed behind Kabuto's team. The three walked up to a man leaning against the wall of the room.

"It was above expectations," Kabuto said, "I've written down all their data from the second test. You want this right?" The silver haired genin said and held up and their info cards.

"Heheh, so you're that interested," the man said as he took the cards, which were for Team Seven ,"So how did it go?" he asked.

"Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said, not quite sure what the former Konoha senin wanted from him.

"I want to know your opinion as our spy," Orochimaru said

"That's unnecessary," Kabuto as he passed his hand over his face, "Since everything will be decided by you." Kabuto said, lowering his hand and as he did the wound he had across his face from the battle had alongside Team 7 was gone, with no sign it had ever existed.

Orochimaru disappeared in a puff of smoke, though his voice lingered to say, "Heh, I like that intelligence of yours, good work."

Once inside, Team 7 saw a scroll on the wall with some writing on it.

"What is that?" Sasuke asked.

"Let's see here. If you do not possess Heave, go and gain knowledge and power. If you do not possess earth, run through the field and gain strength. If you possess both, dangerous paths turn into safe ones. This is the secret of something something. It will lead you on your way." Sakura said as she read it.

"What the hell does that I have to do with anything?" Sasuke asked.

"It's probably referring to the scrolls, which means in order to understand the full depth of this message,we have to open them." Naruto said and Sasuke and Sakura each took one. They looked at each other and then at Naruto and opened them all at the same time. What was inside the scroll was a large kanji inside of a circle.

"What in the world? All it says is Person, Jin." Sasuke said as the team were dumbfounded by what they discovered. Then, the kanji in each burst.

"That's a summoning inscription. We probably just activated it. You two, let go of the scrolls now!" Naruto said and both Sasuke and Sakura did as told, tossing them away. The smoke then cleared and it revealed to be Iruka-sensei.

"Yo, how it's going?" Iruka said.

"Wait, what's going on?" Sakura asked.

"Looks like you went through alot of trouble." Iruka smiled.

"Why were you in the summoning technique, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked, intrigued.

"It's our responsability as chuunins to welcome the examinees at the second of the test. I was give the job to give you guys a message by chance." Iruka explained.

"A message?" Sasuke repeated.

"Phew, you guys made it in time." Iruka said as he looked at his pocket watch. He then put it back into his pockets and stared at the genins, "Everyone, you have officially passed the second test of the Chunnin Exam." Iruka said. The genins breathed a sigh of relief and all fell to the floor, relieved to have passed.

"Finally, we made it." Sakura said.

"One question, Iruka-sensei. If we looked into the scrolls, what would you have planned to do?" Naruto asked with a smirk.

"This exam tests your mission completion ability. We wanted to see if you go, retrieve an item, and return to the tower without looking at the item and instead just focus on the mission. If you had indeed looked, then I would have been ordered to knock you unconscious until the completion of the exam for penalty. Iruka explained as he picked up the scrolls.

"Just as I thought. That's why Anko didn't answer Sasuke's question earlier." Naruto said, referring to when Sasuke had asked his question to Anko before this test.

"Oh by the way sensei, what does this writing on the wall means? It seems to be broken and we can't understand it." Sakura asked.

"I'm glad you asked Sakura since that's my other mission. The writing on the wall is the principle the Hokage wrote that you should keep in mind as a chunnin. The Heaven in the text points to the person's head and Earth points to the body. If you don't have heaven, go and seek knowledge. If you don't have earth, go and seek bodily strength. And if you have both, dangerous paths will become safe for you and it can become much easier." Iruka explained.

"Then what about that missing letter?" Sakura asked as she pointed to it.

"It's the letter that symbolizes a chuunin. The human letter that was in that scroll was what goes there." Iruka said as he pointed to the kanji in the scroll.

"Hence why we could not open them until we reached the tower and saw the message." Naruto added.

"As perceptive as always, Naruto." Iruka said.

"The survival exam you guys took in five days tested the basic abilities of the examinees as a Chuunin and you guys completed it. A chuunin is a commander-class. He has the duty to lead a team. Deeply inscribe in your heart the importance of knowledge and strength in mission. Never forget that principal and go on to the next step, but please don't push yourselves too hard in the third exam." Iruka said.

"Don't worry about a thing, Iruka-sensei, we'll be fine." Sasuke said.

"Besides, we're shinobis now, not academy students and this headband is the mark of this commitment." Naruto added to what Sasuke said.

"Gomen, you guys. I shouldn't underestimate your abilities and worry so much." Iruka said.

Team 7 then entered the door and found themselves in a large arena where all the teams that had passed the exam, including the Sand Siblings and the sound team. Zaku was bandaged up and the girl had recovered but still was not 100.

'There were 78 people that took this test and only 21 passed. Not bad but I was hoping that ten would be left, not twenty-one.' Anko thought with a smirk as she and all the jounins,chuunins and Hokage were standing in front of all the participants.

'It looks like Sasuke-kun's team passed. I'm so glad.' Hinata thought as she saw Sasuke and his team.

"You team is good after all, Kakashi. Perhaps they were lucky. But as long as my team is there, they won't go futher since in this stage, personal abilities are critical. Youth is sweet and sour and you're too strict, Kakashi." Gai said as also saw Team 7.

"Huh, did you say something?" Kakashi asked Gai

"OH MY GOD!" Gai yelled out in a dramatic fashion.

"Hokage-sama will now explain the third test. Listen carefully," Anko said. Sarutobi stepped forward and started to explain the true purpose of the Chunin exam.

"Excuse me Hokage-sama," said a Jounin that appeared in the middle of the arena, "From here on, as the referee, will you allow me, Gekkou Hayate, to explain?"

"By all means," Sarutobi said as he gestured for the Jounin to address the gathered Genin.

"Hello everyone, I'm Hayate," said the man as he turned around to reveal a sickly looking face, "umm, before the third test, there's something I'd like you to do. Umm, it's a preliminary for the third test, to decide who gets to participate in the main event."

"Preliminary?" Naruto asked.

"Why do we need one? This sounds too troublesome." Shikamaru asked.

"Umm, because the first and second tests may have been too easy this year, we have a bit too many people remaining," said Hayate. "According to Chunin Exam rules, we must have a preliminary round reduce the number of participants for the third test. As Hokage-sama said, there will be many guests at the third test, so the fights could take too long and we're limited in time." There were murmurs running through the small crowd of Genin at this announcement, everyone was suddenly realizing they wouldn't get a chance to go to the third round. "umm, so anyway, those who are not feeling well and those who feel like quitting after hearing these explanations, please come forward now, since we will be starting the preliminary immediately."

"What should we do, about that Sasuke kid who Anko said was given the curse seal by Orochimaru?" asked Ibiki as he recalled the information the special jounin gave to them after her encounter with Orochimaru.

"We should remove him from the exam and have the ANBU watching over and protecting him," Anko said.

"No, he won't agree to that easily," Kakashi with a small smile. "Sasuke wants to prove himself worthy of being an Uchiha and he won't give up."

"I don't care! By just releasing chakra the curse becomes active and forcibly pulls out chakra. It's a forbidden jutsu which eats at the user's body. It's amazing that Sasuke has held on for so long, he should be dead!" Anko exclaimed.

"If the curse begins opening and releasing power, then jump in and stop him," Hokage said. All the Jounin nodded.

"Umm, I'm going to quit!" Kabuto said as he raised his hand.

'That's strange.' Naruto thought as he stared at Kabuto

"umm, you're Yakushi Kabuto from Konoha, right?" asked Hayate as he looked through a pile of papers, presumably one each per genin in the room. "You may leave now. Oh, umm, I forgot to tell you that from here on it will be individual battling. You may raise your hand based on your own judgment."

"Kabuto-san, why are you quitting?" Sakura asked.

"I'm sorry, but my body is all beat up. Actually, I haven't been able to hear out of my left ear from the time I got attacked by the Sound shinobi from the first round, and now that we'll have to risk our lives, I just can't go on." Kabuto explained.

I've seen him before, didn't he quit during the final round last year? What's he thinking?" Sarutobi asked.

Anko looked through her folder containing the history of each participant in the third round and said, "Yakushi Kabuto's data, he's failed six straight times." Anko said.

"What kind of record is that?" Kakashi asked he raised one eyebrow.

"He's an average shinobi since his academy days, 14 D-rank and two C-rank missions, but it's his record from before the academy that is interesting, Do you remember the story of the boy found at the Bellflower pass" Anko said

"I remember now, that young boy who was brought back from the battle at Bellflower pass. Apparently, a Jounin from the medical team brought back a child of the enemy who survived the battle, so he's that child." Sarutobi said.

'You sure are devoted, let me handle everything, is what I'd like to say but,' Kabuto said mentally as he stared at the only Hidden Sound Jounin present, 'Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, I would have liked to play with you a little longer but, anymore and the old blood will start boiling. I am a spy after all, I can't reveal my true face here.' Kabuto thought

The Sound Jounin gave a barely noticeable nod of his head.

'Perfect, if you will be watching them my job of gathering information is done, Orochimaru-sama.' Kabuto thought.

'You've been a spy, hiding in your fake self since you were a child, look like you are trying your best to hold down that boiling blood,' Orochimaru thought. Disguised as the Sound Jounin, the Snake Sannin grinned inside his head at the way his spy had played his role.

Kabuto exchanged a few words with his dark spectacled team mate before waving to Naruto and his team and walking out of the arena. 'I'll save the fun for some other time, Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun,' thought Kabuto as soon as no one could see the evil smirk on his face.

"Um, now let's begin the preliminary. This preliminary consists of one on one fighting. You will basically be fighting as if your life is on the line in a real life confrontation. Since we now have 23 contenders, one lucky person will receive a free pass to the next round with the winners of the other twelve matches. There are basically no rules. The fight continues until one of you is knocked out or admits your defeat. Umm, if you don't want to die, admit your defeat quickly. But when I decide a winner has clearly been established, umm, since we're trying to decrease the amount of corpses, I'll jump right in and stop things. And the object that controls your destiny is.." Hayate said.

"Open it," Anko said into her microphone headset. A panel in the wall moved up to reveal an electronic scoreboard.

"Is this electronic scoreboard which will show the matches for each fight," Hayate said and then added, "Now, this is sudden but let's announce the names of the first two contestants."

Everyone watched the scoreboard while wondering if they would have to go first. The board suddenly revealed two names: Uchiha Sasuke and Akado Yoroi.

"Sweet, I'm first." Sasuke grinned.

"Will everyone but the participants please move to the observation balconies?" Hayate asked. Everyone did as the sickly Jounin asked. The other Jounins stood by their teams but Kakashi however had stopped to talk to Sasuke.

"Don't use your Sharingan, got it?" Kakashi whispered.

"So you know about it, huh? Don't worry though, senpai fixed it for me so I'll be just fine." Sasuke smirked.

'Senpai? He is talking about that Kyo guy? I may have to tell that to Hokage-sama soon.' Kakashi thought, "Alright then, go get him but I will butt in just in case it gets out of control" Kakashi then said to his student and then went up meet the rest of the team.

Sasuke then walked up and met Yoroi face to face.

"Now, let the first match of the prelimanaries begin!" Hayate said.

To Be Continued...

AN: Alright guys, the second exam is over and now we move on to the third. Hope you guys will enjoy the fights.

BTW, I would appreciate if someone could come up with some original jutsus for Ino since she will be fightng Sakura and in her current form, she would get stomped by Sakura so I need a few jutsus or ideas to make her better than her original self.

As always, read and review!


	9. The Preliminaries begin!

Author's Note: Naruto nor the characters of the story belong to me unfortunately and belong rather to Kishimoto Masashi. All I am doing is writing another version of his story according to my creative vision.

AN: Thank you so much for the reviews and Kazztar, I owe you a big one, that Medusa idea was amazing.

"Um, now let's begin the preliminary. This preliminary consists of one on one fighting. You will basically be fighting as if your life is on the line in a real life confrontation. Since we now have 23 contenders, one lucky person will receive a free pass to the next round with the winners of the other twelve matches. There are basically no rules. The fight continues until one of you is knocked out or admits your defeat. Umm, if you don't want to die, admit your defeat quickly. But when I decide a winner has clearly been established, umm, since we're trying to decrease the amount of corpses, I'll jump right in and stop things. And the object that controls your destiny is.." Hayate said.

"Open it," Anko said into her microphone headset. A panel in the wall moved up to reveal an electronic scoreboard.

"Is this electronic scoreboard which will show the matches for each fight," Hayate said and then added, "Now, this is sudden but let's announce the names of the first two contestants."

Everyone watched the scoreboard while wondering if they would have to go first. The board suddenly revealed two names: Uchiha Sasuke and Akado Yoroi.

"Sweet, I'm first." Sasuke grinned.

"Will everyone but the participants please move to the observation balconies?" Hayate asked. Everyone did as the sickly Jounin asked. The other Jounins stood by their teams but Kakashi however had stopped to talk to Sasuke.

"Don't use your Sharingan, got it?" Kakashi whispered.

"So you know about it, huh? Don't worry though, senpai fixed it for me so I'll be just fine." Sasuke smirked.

'Senpai? He is talking about that Kyo guy? I may have to tell that to Hokage-sama soon.' Kakashi thought, "Alright then, go get him but I will butt in just in case it gets out of control" Kakashi then said to his student and then went up meet the rest of the team.

Sasuke then walked up and met Yoroi face to face.

"Now, let the first match of the prelimanaries begin!" Hayate said.

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 9: The Preliminaries begins

"So, any last words before I bash your face in?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.

"You're one cocky punk, aren't you? However, if I were you, I wouldn't underestimate my opponent." Yoroi growled.

"Oh, I'm not underestimating you. I just know that I'm going to win, that's all." Sasuke smirked.

'Isn't that the same as acting cocky?' Team 7 all thought.

"Why you little punk! I'll shut you up!" Yoroi said and then dashed at Sasuke and punched him hard, making him skid to the ground several feet back.

"So, did you like that, punk?" Yoroi said but then was taken aback when Sasuke started to laugh, "What's so funny?" Yoroi asked.

"Nothing, it's just that I expected a punch, not a lovetap." Sasuke smirked as he got back up.

"Man Sasuke's cocky." Shikamaru said.

"You would too if you were as strong as him." Ino said.

"Maybe, but being cocky is way too troublesome for me." Shikamaru replied.

'Everything for you is troublesome.' Ino thought.

"Damn it Sasuke. This isn't the time to be overconfident, finish him off now!" Naruto growled.

"Chill Naruto. I got this under control, just having a little fun that's all." Sasuke replied.

'That fool...he doesn't understand what happens when an opponent is allowed to linger on too much.' Naruto said mentally.

Yoroi growled and then rushed at Sasuke and threw a punch but Sasuke parried it and then countered with a hard backhand punch to the stomach, sending Yoroi flying to a wall.

"Come on now, you can't be down after that, I wasn't even trying." Sasuke said.

"I refuse to lose...until I have proven myself stronger than him!" Yoroi said and then gets back up from the wall and then dashes toward Sasuke. He throws another punch and Sasuke parries but then Yoroi grins and grabs Sasuke's arm and then, his hand turns blue. Suddenly, chakra from Sasuke is starting to be absorbed by Yoroi's hand.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sasuke yelled.

"Simple, fool. I am using my kekkai genkai to absorb all of your chakra in order to make myself stronger, faster while making you weaker." Yoroi answered.

Sasuke tries to pry Yoroi's hand off his arm but then started to slump to the ground as he began to feel weak.

"Sasuke!" Sakura said.

'That idiot! This is why I told him to finish off the opponent right away!' Naruto said mentally.

"Now that I got what I needed, here's payback!" Yoroi said and then lifted Sasuke and started to pummel him with a volley of punches with the last punch sending him flying to the wall on the other side.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, now I win and you lose, Uchiha!" Yoroi said as he laughed.

'Now what will you do, Sasuke-kun? If you want to win against Yoroi and his kekkai genkai, you will need your Sharingan but if you use it, then my curse seal will take effect.' Orochimaru said mentally

"Hmm, looks like I can't play around any longer. That's too bad," Sasuke said as he started to get back up, "You said that ability is your kekkai genkai, correct? Well then, let me show you mine!" Sasuke said and then the Sharingan appeared but what surprised most was no sign of the curse seal.

'WHAT? Where is the curse seal? Why didn't it activate after he unleashed his Sharingan? It should have activated...unless someone negated it but that's impossible, it's full-proof!' Orochimaru yelled in his head and he tried to use the same seal he did on Anko to activate her curse seal but nothing happened, angering him even more, 'THAT CAN'T BE! WHOEVER DID THIS WILL PAY!' Orochimaru growled mentally and then did a seal and poofed away.

'It looked like that Kyo guy did negate the seal after all but the only people I know that can do something like that are the Hokage and Jiraiya the Toad Sannin and I never heard of a Kyo person so who the heck is he?' Kakashi asked.

"So what about it? In case you've forgotten about it, I've absorbed nearly all of your chakra and thanks to it, I've gotten much faster and stronger!" Yoroi laughed and he then started to move around Sasuke at high-speeds, so fast that he was invisible to the naked eye.

"Well, he definitely got faster." Kakashi said.

"You really are stupid, are you? Sasuke said with a smirk, and then twists to his right and punches Yoroi in the face, knocking him down.

'How? I'm faster!' Yoroi asked mentally.

"Yeah you are but to me, you're still slow. I don't need all my chakra, just enough for my Sharingan, and this." Sasuke said and his hands then started to become engufled with chakra, "I think I should listen to my teammate now and put an end to this." Sasuke added and then the chakra turned into fire.

"That's new." Kakashi said as he wondered what his student had in mind.

"Eat this! Uchiaryuu: Ken No Jigoku Ryuu Kaen! (Uchiha Style: Fist of the Hell Dragon Flame!)" Sasuke yelled out and then punched Yoroi multiple times with his burning fists and then knocks him through the wall, full of burn marks and unconscious.

"It seems Yoroi is unable to continue this fight. The winner of the first match then is Uchiha Sasuke." Hayate said followed by a cough.

"I told you I could handle this." Sasuke said as he walked up to his teammates.

"Well, you did almost lose because of your overconfidence." Kakashi said.

"I could have beaten much earlier but then what fun would that be?" Sasuke asked.

"That can get you killed Sasuke." Naruto warned his teammate.

"I know, I won't do it but even if I do, I don't plan on dying just yet." Sasuke said.

The next two fights were pretty much one-sided. Aburame Shino was able to defeat Zaku from the Sound by clogging up both his airholes with his bugs despite Zaku pretending to have an injured arm in a cast. However, what was discovered about Shino was the main highlight of the fight as Neji was able to discover that Shino actually housed the bugs in his body and Kakashi ended up explaining that the Aburame family use their bodies to house bugs in exchange for their combat abilities. This creeped out alot of the examinees.

The second one was between Kankurou and Mitsumi Tsugiri. The latter had used his ability to wrap his body around Kankurou like rubber and snapped the sand ninja's neck. But what he truly snapped was the puppet Karasu's neck as the real Kankurou walked out of the bandages he originally used to hide his contraption. He then got his puppet wrap its arms around Mitsumi and then used it to crush his opponent's body. The other genins except for the boy's teammates were shocked by the boy's ruthlessness.

"Alright, we will not proceed to the next match." Hayate said, coughing, and the screen began to once go through the names of the remaining participants until it stopped on two names: Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino. The girls looked at each other for a while and then nodded and went down to the stage.

"This should be interesting." Naruto said.

"This should be an easy win for Sakura considering Ino is just another fangirl." Sasuke smirked.

'That's what you think Sasuke but you know nothing about Ino. Out of everyone here, she is the most improved by far.' Shikamaru thought as he heard what Sasuke said.

"Now, let the match begin." Hayate said.

"Before we begin Sakura, I want to tell you something. I'm much more different than I was in the academy, much different." Ino smirked.

"I do not bear any grudge against you Ino but I will defeat you!" Sakura said.

"Hmm. Tell me Sakura, what do you think of my hair?" Ino asked as she got rid of the rubber that was holding her ponytail.

"What the hell does hair have to do with anything?" Sasuke asked with a sweatdrop behind his head.

'Something's not right...' Naruto thought but then his eyes widened as he saw some of Ino's hair move, "Sakura! Get out of the way!" Naruto yelled, startling everyone.

Ino then grins and her hair shot at Sakura but the latter was about to see it coming and dodged out of the way. Ino's hair ended up piercing the wall like a bullet.

"W...what is that?" Sakura asked, surprised.

"If it wasn't for Naruto, then my attack would have worked. You see Sakura, I decided to infuse my hair with chakra, turning it into a living weapon." Ino explained.

"She turned her hair into a weapon by infusing chakra into it? Incredible." Naruto said shocked.

"And on top of that, Ino's mind is too strong for any genjutsu of Sakura's to work on, thus making it much harder for Sakura to beat her." Shikamaru added on.

"The bigger question however, is what brought on that chance? The Ino I know would have never been able to come up with that." Sasuke asked.

"I did, by giving her a talk." Asuma said.

_Flashback:_

"Shikamaru, Chouji, you guys go train while I talk to Ino about something." Asuma said to his team in one of the training grounds. The two boys nodded and headed deeper into the training ground.

"What did you want talk to me about, Asuma-sensei?" Ino asked.

"It's about you Ino. To be honest, I don't think you're cut out to continue being a shinobi." Asuma said with a stern tone.

"What? What do you mean I'm not cut out! I have my jutsus and I was one of the best in the academy!" Ino argued.

"It's not about jutsus or the academy, it's about determination." Asuma replied.

"Determination?" Ino repeated.

"Yes, determination. You and many of the girls in your class had determination but that determination was only to impress boys, not to become great kunoichis. That is the kind of determination you lack and until you do you can never become a true kunoichi." Asuma said.

"But you're wrong, sensei! I do want to become a great kunoichi, I don't want to be a fangirl anymore! Shikamaru and Chouji, they are so more useful than me in missions and even though I know some of my family jutsus, I still feel like I'm a burden to this team. Please, help me sensei!" Ino said as she realized what her sensei was talking about. She realized that she has been toying her around with her duty as a kunoichi and that she needed to become stronger.

"Unfortunately Ino I can't." Asuma replied.

"What?" Ino yelled.

"Ino, if you want to change and become strong, then you need to find your determination and protect it with your life. Once you have found something to put one hundred determination into it, then you will become strong, I guarantee it." Asuma said as he kneeled to look face to face with the girl and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you, sensei." Ino said as she wiped a tear from her eye.

_End Flashback_

"Since then, she became a different Ino, a much stronger and focused Ino. A true kunoichi." Asuma said.

"I have trained constantly ever since that day and as I did, I have found something to put one hundred percent determination into; To prove myself as a true kunoichi, and that is something I am willing to put my life on!" Ino said and then spun her hair toward Sakura. Sakura put up her hands to block but the force of the hair was too great and knocked her back before she landed on the ground hard.

"Take this!" Medusa Raid!" Ino said as she jumped in the air and then her hair then turned into fists and struck Sakura all at once, punching her over and over again while the poor girl was trying to block them.

"SAKURA!" Naruto yelled.

"Had enough, Sakura?" Ino said as she stopped her attack and landed back on the ground.

"I'm not done yet..." Sakura said, all bruised up as she got back up.

"Give up girl, you can't win or rather I won't let you win!" Ino said.

"You said you had your determination or goal, right? A reason to become a true kunoichi. Well, I have mine as well. You see, the reason I decided to be a kunoichi in the first place, the true reason for my dreams, is become of my mother." Sakura said.

"Your mother?" Ino asked.

"Yes, my mother because you see, I destroyed her dreams." Sakura replied.

"Destroyed her dreams?" Ino asked as she and everyone were startled by the girl's revelation.

"Yes. She was a kunoichi on the rise to becoming one of the best in all of leaf but then she had me and as you know, once a kunoichi gets a child, their chances of remaining a kunoichi fall to zero and on top of that, she had to take care of me all by herself because my bastard of a father abandoned her." Sakura explained.

"But then your father is to blame, not you!" Ino said.

"I know, but still, she ended up having to take care of me and because of me, she had to quit as a ninja. I know she hates me, even if she tells me no, even if she tells me she loves me, even when she used to put me to bed, I know she hates me because I was born and her dreams where shattered, "Sakura said with closed eyes even though tears were flowing them, "I felt that I needed to do something to make up to her, to make her proud of me and that is why I decided to become a kunoichi and a serious one, so that way I can become a powerful kunoichi and fulfill not only my dreams but also hers as well and that is why I can never give up!" Sakura said as she then open her eyes full of determination, and then she went through seals.

"Ninpou: Sakura Kakuhan! (Ninja Art: Blossom Whip)!" Sakura said and then a whip out of petals was formed out of her chakra.

"You said that Ino had improved Shikamaru and that is very true. However, Sakura has also improved even more and hence why she will win." Naruto said.

"Now, let's fight!" Sakura said and then lashed out her whip. Ino lashed out her hair and the two weapons started to clash at high-speeds through the arena.

"Amazing, they're really going at it!" Ten-Ten said.

"The question is, who has the stronger weapon?" Lee said.

"Medusa Needles!" Ino yelled out and then show needles out of her hair toward Sakura who used her whip to knock them down.

"My turn! Sakura Hitoame (Sakura Shower)" Sakura said and then her whip dismantles into a bundle of petals which then flew toward Ino.

"Like that's going to do anything!" Ino said and then shot out her hair to pierce the bundle but then the petals split apart and then struck Ino over her body, creating small cuts on her, causing to yell in pain before falling to the ground.

"Alright, she did it!" Sasuke yelled out.

"Ino!" Shikamaru and Chouji yelled out in shock.

"Hmm, it seems Yamanaka Ino is unable to continue, the winner therefore is..." Hayate started to say but then was cut off by Sakura's painful scream. When everyone turned, they saw that Sakura was pierced by Ino's needle hair that Sakura had knocked down and then the hair turned into wrappers that gripped Sakura's legs and arms and pinned her to the ground.

"What the heck? How is this happening?" Sasuke asked.

"That girl's pretty good." Temari smirked.

"She's still just a weakling though." Gaara said bored.

"You forget that these needles were formed from my hair and thus I can use them whenever I want." Ino grinned as she got back up, "Now, just hold still while I do this." Ino said.

"She's really going to do that jutsu." Shikamaru said as he realized what Ino had in mind.

"Ninpou: Shitenshin No Jutsu!" Ino yelled out and then performed her mind switch technique, causing her body to slump to the ground and her mind to enter Sakura's.

"I see now, she used those needles to hold Sakura in place so she can use her jutsu. Pretty clever. Now, Ino has this in the bag." Shikamaru said with an added smirk.

"I would not be so sure." Lee said, catching everyone's attention.

"What do you mean by that? Ino's technique allows her to take over any mind she wants, basically invading it. There's no defense for that." Shikamaru asked.

"Just trust me, she will find a way out." Lee said firmly.

'Does Lee know something we don't about her? And if he does, what is it?' Naruto asked mentally as he looked at Lee.

Meanwhile, Ino was in Sakura's mind, fully in control.

"Now, to make her quit and wins this match." Ino said.

"Excuse me but what the hell do you think you're doing?" A voice said and when Ino turned around, Inner Sakura was there with a smirk.

"What's going on? Who are you?" Ino asked.

"It doesn't matter who I am, all I know is that you're in our head and I want you out you bitch!" Inner Sakura said and then punched Ino so hard that it cancelled the jutsu.

"W...what? My jutsu was cancelled..." Ino said and then fell unconscious.

"No way, Sakura overcame the jutsu? Impossible!" Shikamaru exclaimed.

'So my theory was correct, she does have split personality hence why she was able to beat those sound genins and still not know what she did.' Lee said mentally as he remembered the events in the forest.

"Then the winner is..." Hayate began to say again but then Sakura also fell to the ground unconscious.

"Sakura!" Both boys exclaimed.

"It seems her injuries were too much for her in the end." Kakashi said.

"Since both combatans are out..this match results in a draw." Hayate said.

Asuma and Kakashi looked at each other and nodded before going down there and getting their students.

'I'm really proud of you Ino. You really showed true determination.' Asuma thought.

"It looks like not even Sakura had a happy childhood." Naruto said to Sasuke, who nodded.

"By the looks of things, it looks like Sakura will be able to recover in 25 minutes and with that she can heal Ino afterwards." Kakashi said as he checked on the girls.

"So she's your medical specialist?" Asuma asked.

"Yeah, you can say that. However, one thing is for sure, I'm glad I entered them in the Chunnin Exam, she has grown so much more." Kakashi said.

"The fifth match..Ten-Ten vs Temari, come forward." Hayate said to get everyone's attention and both girls quickly jump into the floor and stared at each other face to face.

"Now, the second member of the sand team. This could prove to be interesting." Neji said, 'However, Ten-Ten will lose because of the inrefutable gap between her and her opponent that she can never overcome with her skills.' Neji added mentally.

"Good luck Ten-Ten!" Lee yelled.

"Well, Temari is weak but her opponent is much weaker so she should have no problem defeating her." Gaara smiled.

"Begin!" Hayate said and the match was underway.

"Hmm..." Ino said as she started to wake up.

"I'm glad you're awake, Ino." Sakura said as she was still healing the girl's injuries.

"Our match is already over, it was a draw." Sakura added while Lee and Gai were cheering for their friend.

"I see, so we both lost, huh?" Ino said.

"Yes we did, but I don't regret it at all since I know I did my best." Sakura smiled.

"So did I." Ino agreed.

"I will say this however. You have bloomed into a strong flower, Ino." Sakura grinned.

"Sakura.." Ino said as she looked at her friend and then smiled.

"Just like I thought, she never stood a chance." Neji said.

"Ten-Ten..." Lee said as he could not believe his friend had just lost.

Up on the floor, Ten-Ten was on the handle of Temari's fan as all of her weapons were rendered useless against the sand girl.

"How boring." Temari said.

"Like we'd lose here." Kankurou grinned.

'Those guys are dangerous.' The Hokage thought.

"The winner of the fifth match is Temari." Hayate said.

Temari then grinned and threw Ten-Ten off her fan and into the floor full of weapons but luckily for Ten-Ten, Lee appeared just in time to catch her.

"Nice catch." Temari smirked.

"What are you doing? Is that how you treat someone who gave her all in battle?" Lee asked.

"Shut up and take that loser and get out of here." Temari replied.

This made Lee mad and he jumped to perform his Konoha Senpuu but it was blocked by Temari's fan.

"Just as I thought. You're as pathetic as you look." Temari smirked.

"What?" Lee said.

"Lee, stop right now!" Gai said as he jumped into the floor.

'Damn.' Temari thought as she saw Lee's sensei.

"Temari, get up here now. You've been declared a winner. You need to stop wasting time with those weaklings or else you'll get weaker." Gaara said, earning a glare from Lee.

"Lee, that's enough." Gai said that to calm his student, and then grinned, and looked up at the sand team.

"Sand team...there's something I would like to warn you about if you don't mind." Gai said.

"This kid is strong. You better prepare yourself." Gai said.

"I wouldn't want to pick a fight with any of them." Kiba said.

"They all seem so strong." Hinata added.

'Gai, Lee may be strong but Gaara is just a monster.' Naruto thought.

"The next fight will be between Nara Shikamaru and Kin Tsuchi." Hayate said.

"Aw man this sucks. I have to fight a girl." Shikamaru sighed as he headed toward the battle floor and so did the sound girl.

"YOU BETTER NOT LOSE, SHIKAMARU!" Ino yelled out.

'Damn, that girl can be so troublesome.' Shikamaru thought.

"Begin!" Hayate said.

"Listen, I don't really like fighting girls so just give up." Shikamaru said.

'Well, isn't he sexist.' Sakura said mentally.

"There's no way I'm giving up. Besides, it should be easy for me to win this considering how scrawny you look." Kin grinned.

"And I thought this couldn't be easier." Shikamaru said with a grin.

"What do you mean by that?" Kin growled only to to find herself unable to move, "What in the? What did you do?" Kin asked.

"Simple, I used my Shadow Possession Technique to capture your shadow." Shikamaru smirked.

"I see, so that whole conversation was just a distraction to catch her shadow. Pretty clever for a lazy-ass." Naruto said.

"Now, to end this troublesome fight. We'll play 'let's dodge the shuriken' game." Shikamaru grinned as he took out his shuriken and so did Kin.

"Wait a minute, this is crazy! You could die! " Kin said.

"Well, I guess sometimes you gotta take risks. Hyah." Shikamaru said and then threw his shuriken and so did Kin. Shikamaru then went back and ducked the shuriken.

"Ah stupid, I'll just end doing the same." Kin said and then also ducked it but ended smacking her head into the wall, knocking her out.

"O..kay. That was lame." Sasuke said as everyone sweatdropped at the ending of this fight.

"A ninja always uses his environment to his advantage. But man, this was too troublesome, and I hate doing troublesome things." Shikamaru sighed and then walked back up.

"Ahem, now we'll move on to the next fight." Hayate said and then the screen began to go through the names once again.

'Let it be me, let it be me!' Lee thought.

The screen stopped on two names; Inuzuka Kiba and Namikaze Naruto.

"Talk about a heavyweight fight. One of the best in Taijustu from our class versus the best ninjutsu user in our class." Chouji said.

'I wished I had fought Sasuke instead but fighting Naruto isn't so bad too.' Kiba smirked mentally.

"Well then, wish me luck." Naruto said and then he and Kiba both walked down to the floor for their fight.

'Now, we'll get to see if Naruto truly lives up to his father's reputation.' Kurenai said mentally as she recalled what Kakashi said.

_Flashback:_

"His old man? Who was his old man, Kakashi?" Kurenai asked as she and the two male jounins were waiting for the results of the first test.

"What I am about to say cannot leave this room at all," Kakashi said, causing the other two to gulp in suspense. "His father was none other than the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato." Kakashi revealed.

"No way! He's the son of the Yondaime Hokage! But how? The Hokage never had a son" Asuma exclaimed.

"Yep. The reason why most people did not know about it is because Minato never disclosed his last name to the public. Only me, Hokage, and a couple of others know his last name. Also, any information about Minato having a child was disclosed to the public." Kakashi explained.

"So then that child he used, was his own?" Kurenai asked.

"Exactly." Kakashi said.

"No wonder, he's good, his old man was probably on the path of becoming the great ninja ever known to man, even surpassing my father." Asuma said.

"I can see why you would hold him to such esteem Kakashi but I still need to see him in action for myself before I buy into the hype." Kurenai said.

_End Flashback_

'And now, I'll see him for myself against Kiba.' Kurenai thought.

"Okay, the eighth match of these preliminaries, Inuzuka Kiba versus Namikaze Naruto. Begin!" Hayate said.

"I can't believe I get to fight you Naruto. However, even though we are comrades I can't afford to lose to you!" Kiba said.

"And I feel the same, Kiba." Naruto said.

"Alright Akamaru, you stay put. I'm going in first to soften him up and then we'll finish him off together with our combination techniques." Kiba told his dog. "Ninpou: Shikyaku No Jutsu! (Ninja Art: Quadruped Technique)!" Kiba said and then clapped both hands together and then his nails and fangs strated to grow bigger and he then got out on all fours like an animal about to pounch on its prey.

"What is that?" Sakura asked.

"That must be the Inuzuka's clan specialty, the ability to become more animalistic and thus gain great strength and speed." Kakashi explained.

"Here I come!" Kiba growled and then headed straight for Naruto at high speed and to Team 7's surprise tackled the young blonde, knocking him a few feet away, hitting the ground.

"Kiba's fast but not that fast. Naruto should have been able to react to that type of speed and counter." Sasuke said in disbelief.

"Yes but he somehow couldn't. I wonder why?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto slowly got up and started to breath heavily.

'What's going on? My body, it wasn't able to react on time despite me seeing the attack coming but why?' Naruto thought.

"Now to use this technique! Tsuuga! (Piercing Fang)! Kiba said and then started to spin so fast that he turned into a mini-tornado and then headed straight for Naruto and was able to hit the blond, knocking him back down again.

"Naruto, what the hell are you doing?" Sasuke yelled at his teammate.

'So I guess he's all hype after all.' Kurenai smirked mentally.

Naruto tries to get back up but then falls on his knees and starts to cough some blood, surprising everyone.

'My body...it's still injured from the fight with Gaara but how? Sakura-chan said she healed me.' Naruto thought in disbelief.

'What the? I know I hit him hard but not this hard to wound him that bad.' Kiba thought.

"Sakura, I thought you healed him?" Sasuke asked.

"I did, I did. I healed all of the bruises on his body, he should be fine!" Sakura replied.

"Unless these wounds are internal wounds that you were unable to heal. Wounds that are from the inside are much more serious and can truly affect an individual's performance." Kakashi said.

"No...Naruto-kun." Sakura said as she looked on at the blonde.

"Damn it Naruto, get up already so we can get on with this!" Kiba growled as he did not want to win this way.

'Naruto's got no choice, he has to quit the match so he can be properly examined. But who could have done this to him?' Kakashi asked mentally, "Guys, did Naruto meet someone in the forest of death?" Kakashi asked his other students.

"Well let's see. Oh yes, he told me that he fought Gaara." Sakura said.

"You mean that red-haired guy! He fought him? Damn, this is bad." Sasuke said.

"What do you mean by that?" Kakashi asked intrigued.

"We met him earlier before the exams and afterwards, Naruto told us that this guy was a monster and had a bloodlust even worse than Zabuza's and that we should avoid him at all costs." Sasuke explained.

"A bloodlust worse than Zabuza's? If that's truly the case then it's no wonder he's in this shape." Kakashi said.

"Since Namikaze Naruto is unable to continue physically, the winner of this match is..." Hayate started to say but was cut off by Naruto.

"Don't you dare stop this fight, proctor!" Naruto growled.

"Just stay down Naruto! If rhis go on, you might die!" Kiba said.

"So you rather win because I'm too injured to continue, is that it? Where is your pride as a shinobi, Kiba?" Naruto smirked.

"Alright then, if you want to end up worse than you already are, then it's fine by me but I warned you." Kiba said.

"Kage Bushin No Jutsu!" Naruto said and then spawned 20 clones and dashed toward Kiba

'Kage Bushin? Hmm, that won't work against Kiba's sense of smell.' Kurenai thought

"You think he's got a plan?" Sasuke said.

"Definitely." Kakashi answered.

"Okay Akamaru, time for you to also have some fun." Kiba grinned and then inserted a purple pill into Akamaru's mouth and the dog swallowed.

'A soldier pill. This isn't good, Naruto.' Kakashi thought.

Then, Akamaru's fur turned red and he then jumped on the back of Kiba.

'Kiba intends to end it here.' Kurenai thought.

"Time to do this, buddy! Juujin Bushin! (Beast-Human Clone)!" Kiba said and then Akamaru turned into another Kiba, "Gatsuuga!" Kiba yelled out and then both he and Akamaru perform a Tsuuga and then shredded into the clones and then headed for Naruto, who was standing there with his eye closed and breathing.

"Naruto, get out of the way!" Sasuke yelled out.

'It's over!' Kiba thought and then the clones were inches from hitting Naruto when the blonde suddenly vanished.

"What the hell?" Kiba growled. He and Akamaru stopped and turned to see Naruto right behind them.

"What just happened? I thought his body couldn't move." Shikamaru asked shocked.

"I have absolutely no idea." Asuma said.

"I don't know how you moved that fast but you not getting away a second time! Gatsuuga!" Kiba yelled and they both started up again, heading toward Naruto. They seem to hit Naruto but then veer off course and each land on the opposite side of the blond.

"What's going on? I know I hit you!" Kiba said.

"I might as well tell you what's going on. You see, the clones I sent were just a mere diversion to stall you so I can create a new technique in order to help me move." Naruto said.

"You just now created a new technique?" Kiba asked.

"Yes, and I call this one Fuuton: Tenkazedou No Jutsu (Wind Element: Heavenly Wind Body Technique). By basically emitting my chakra around me and then adding my wind affinity to convert it to wind, my whole body becomes controlled by the wind and I simply have to tell the wind a command and it will do it, basically like how a puppet is controlled by the strings of its puppetmaster. So for the first attacks, I simply wanted to move out of the way and the wind carried my body at high speeds away from you. For the last attack, I simply had the wind knock your attack away by using a wind current. It's pretty complicated but I believe the actions justifies the explanations." Naruto explained, leaving everyone shocked on how he could devise such a technique in a short amount of time.

"I see now. Basically, he uses the wind as a replacement for his body in order to continue to fight without being slowed down by his injuries. Incredible." Kakashi said.

"But the level of that jutsu, it's easily A-class and yet he came up with it in less than a minute. He's truly amazing." Kurenai said in awe.

"Like Kakashi said Kurenai-chan, he really takes after his old man." Asuma smirked.

"I don't care what that technique does, I can still beat you!" Kiba said and then started up his Gatsuuga again but when they were getting closer to Naruto, one of them decided to go behind Naruto in order to attack.

'He's trying to attack me from both sides!' Naruto thought as he realized Kiba's plan.

"Try to deflect this!" Kiba yelled out.

"Tatsumaki." Naruto whispered and then a twister sprung from underneath him and sucked Kiba and Akamaru in, cutting them all over before dropping them to the ground. Akamaru then returned to its original form.

"He countered both at the same time with one move. I knew Naruto was good with ninjutsu but this is unreal." Shikamaru said.

'Namikaze Naruto...if your father and mother were here to see you, they would have been very proud of you.' The Hokage said.

Kiba tried to get back up but then Naruto had his hand pointed to him.

"Give up now Kiba or else I will attack." Naruto said sternly, causing the Inuzuka boy to gulp. When he saw his animal partner down for the count, Kiba knew he stood no chance against Naruto.

"Proctor, I give up." Kiba said.

"If that is the case, then the winner of this match is Namikaze Naruto." Hayate said.

"Alright, Naruto-kun!" Sakura and Anko both said at the same time, causing them to glare and growl at each other, earning a sweatdrop from everyone.

"That Naruto, he sure had me worried." Sasuke smirked.

"That guy is strong, no wonder he survived against Gaara." Kankurou told Temari, who nodded in agreement.

'Namikaze Naruto...killing you will truly be an exihilarating pleasure.' Gaara thought.

Meanwhile, Kabuto and Orochimaru were outside the arena where the preliminaries took place.

"What? The curse seal failed? But that's impossible, it's absolutely flawless, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto said in disbelief.

"I know but someone did and I want to know who! Kabuto, did you see anyone with Sasuke?" Orochimaru asked.

"No sir, I was the only one that was with them." Kabuto replied.

"This is throwing a wrench into my plans! I cannot let this go unpunished!" Orochimaru growled.

"Yare yare dase. Looks like we have an angry snake here." A voice said and Kabuto and Orochimaru turned only to see Kyo standing near a tree.

"You..." Orochimaru growled.

"It's been a while, little Orochimaru." Kyo grinned as he walked up to them.

"Who is this man, Orochimaru-sama? I can feel tremendous chakra coming from him." Kabuto asked.

"That man...That man is none other than the one the legends call the Blue Dragon...His name is Uchiha Kyo, the brother of Uchiha Madara." Orochimaru said.

"Now little Orochimaru, we need to have a little talk." Kyo glared with his dragon-like Sharingan flaring.

Who is this Uchiha Kyo and what does and Orochimaru have to talk about? Also, who will fight next in the preliminaries? Find out in the next chapter called "Destinies and Tragedies."

AN: As always, read and review.


	10. Destinies and Tragedies

Author's Note: Naruto nor the characters of the story belong to me unfortunately and belong rather to Kishimoto Masashi. All I am doing is writing another version of his story according to my creative vision.

"Yare yare dase. Looks like we have an angry snake here." A voice said and Kabuto and Orochimaru turned only to see Kyo standing near a tree.

"You..." Orochimaru growled.

"It's been a while, little Orochimaru." Kyo grinned as he walked up to them.

"Who is this man, Orochimaru-sama? I can feel tremendous chakra coming from him." Kabuto asked.

"That man...That man is none other than the one the legends call the Blue Dragon...His name is Uchiha Kyo, the brother of Uchiha Madara." Orochimaru said.

"Now little Orochimaru, we need to have a little talk." Kyo glared with his dragon-like Sharingan flaring.

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 10: Destinies and Tragedies

"He's the brother of the founder of the Uchiha clan? But that makes no sense? How can he still be alive and look so young?" Kabuto asked.

"Yo, Orochimaru, tell the little baby to get lost. I don't have time to meddle with babies." Kyo said with a glare.

"Sorry but I'm Orochimaru's servant and thus my responsability to be by his side no matter what." Kabuto said, taking out a kunai in case of combat but then suddenly, he clutched his heart and fell to his knees.

'What is going on? I feel like my body is being crushed? Is he doing this simply by using his Sharingan?' Kabuto asked mentally.

"Like I said, I don't have to meddle with babies. Besides, you're 100 years too early in order to stand up to me boy, so GET LOST!" Kyo said with his Sharingan flaring.

"Kabuto, leave us." Orochimaru said. Kabuto, not wanting to stay one more second, left using shunshin, "So, what do you want to talk to me about?" Orochimaru asked, a bit nervous.

Kyo simply smiled and then reappeared behind Orochimaru.

"I saw that you tried to make Sasuke your new pet by giving that curse seal, Orochimaru." Kyo said.

"Of course, he is after all going to be very important to me in the near future. And I guess you're the one that got rid of it, didn't you?" Orochimaru asked with a smirk.

"My, you've gotten alot smarter than the last time we've met but it seems your greed hasn't subsided yet. Listen and listen closely, a dragon can only be controlled by another dragon. If someone other than a dragon tries to control a dragon then they will be devoured by the said dragon. Why do you think that the dragon is revered as the strongest mythical animal ever in legends and other cultures? It is because it has no equal, only God is stronger than a dragon, thus a small insignificant snake like you will never be able to control the dragon and since Sasuke is a dragon, you will never be able to get him in your clutches." Kyo explained.

"And how can you be sure? In case you've forgotten, he is an avenger and lives only to seek revenge." Orochimaru countered.

"He's not an avenger anymore, I made sure of that. Besides, he lives for more than just petty revenge, he represents the rebirth of the Uchiha Clan and also the dragon that will slay the corrupted dragon of darkness and give birth to a new Uchiha clan." Kyo said.

"You mean your brother? Hmm, I can't believe you actually believe that prophecy but then again, you're the one that failed to kill your brother all those years and thus set all of this in motion, isn't that right Kyo-kun." Orochimaru said but then quickly regretted as Kyo grabbed his neck and started to crush it.

"Where do you get off talking to me as if we're equals, Orochimaru. It seems you have forgotten the beating I gave you last time, would you want me to REMIND YOU? HUH OROCHIMARU" Kyo said, and when the snake sannin shook his head in fear, Kyo let go of his neck.

"I thought so. Anyway, Sasuke will never become your pet no matter what you do because he belongs to me and his destiny will be fulfilled. The world doesn't have time for your fruitless ambitions of power and grandeur anymore, Orochimaru. It needs peace and stability and both Uchiha Sasuke and Namikaze Naruto will provide the peace and stability that this world needs. " Kyo said.

"What? Minato had a son?" Orochimaru exclaimed.

"You didn't know? Yes, Minato has a son and his son is the one the other prophecy calls the yang, the one that will unleash a wind of peace and prosperity throughout the five elemental countries by defeating the yin of the red clouds." Kyo smirked. "However, if you feel like fighting against destiny then by all means do so but remember this, no one can escape their destiny. In one form or another, our destinies will happen and his will happen because like I said, no one can control a dragon except for a dragon and if a small snake like you tries to do, then you will end up dying in the process. Hmm, until next time, Orochimaru." Kyo said, and then disappeared.

"Uchiha Kyo...you may be stronger than me but you have forgotten that I am extremely resourceful. I do not care how I do it or what destiny he may have, UCHIHA SASUKE WILL BE MINE!" Orochimaru said.

Kyo reappears in a forest where the woman in cloak from the forest of death was waiting.

"Ohayo, Shina-chan!" Kyo grinned but then earned a bonk on the head from the girl.

"Don't call me Shina-chan!" Shina growled.

"Shina-chan, you're so mean..." Kyo said, with fake tears flowing out.

"So Kyo, why didn't you kill Orochimaru? You could have done it easily and saved us a bunch of trouble." Shina asked.

"You're right, I could have, but if there is one thing I have learned, it is to never mess with destiny and its plans. It's destined for Orochimaru to meddle in the affairs of the Leaf and I cannot go against it or else everything else will be in disarray. One should not dare to go against destiny or else they will reap a horrible judgement Shina, or should I call you Uzumaki Shina, younger sister of Uzumaki Kushina and also the aunt of Namikaze Naruto." Kyo smirked as he took out a cigarette and started to smoke, "Besides, everything will be alright since the pieces for the future have already started to grow." Kyo added.

"I hope you're right, Kyo, I hope you're right." Shina said.

"By the way, when are you going to visit your nephew?" Kyo asked.

"I don't know yet, he looks so much like his mother and father, I don't know if I'm ready to face him after not doing so all those years." Shina said with a saddened look on her face.

"I'm sure it will be okay." Kyo smiled.

"I'm sure you're right." Shina smiled back.

Meanwhile, back in the exams, Naruto was back with his team up in the stands, being healed by Sakura.

"Naruto-kun, I'm sorry I didn't you heal you properly. Maybe if I had healed you better, maybe you wouldn't be in this shape." Sakura said sadly.

"It's okay Sakura-chan, it wasn't your fault and besides, you are healing me now and I couldn't ask for anything more." Naruto said with a foxy grin.

"Arigato, Naruto-kun." Sakura said.

"Naruto, that Gaara guy, is he truly worse than Zabuza?" Kakashi asked, not believing that sucha genin can be that terrifying.

"Just wait until he fights then you will see." Naruto simply said.

Back in the battle floor, Kiba was put in the stretcher by medic-nins when Hinata suddenly came toward him with a something in a small bottle.

"You fought well Kiba-kun, I am very proud of you. Here, take some of this ointment I made." Hinata said with a smile.

'Kiba better not try anything stupid with Hinata or I'll castrate him.' Sasuke thought as he looked at the intereaction between Kiba and his girl...I mean Hinata.

"Arigato Hinata, but you should start worrying about yourself." Kiba grinned through the pain.

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked.

"Look at the remaining participants. The only ones left are you, that guy from the sand, Chouji, that guy from sound, and Neji. I don't know much about the others but if you end up fighting Neji, just give up." Kiba advised his teammate.

"But I can't." Hinata said.

"You have to, Hinata. I know how much you've improved but Neji, Neji won't fight you fair and square, he will kill you. Please, Hinata, if you do face him, just give up before it's too late." Kiba pleaded, not wanting his friend to get hurt.

"Now, we'll announce the next match." Hayate said followed by a cough. The next two names were Hyuuga Hinata vs Hyuuga Neji.

"Damn..." Kiba cursed under his breath.

'Hinata...' Kurenai thought.

'This should be an interesting matchup.' The Hokage thought.

"Hinata, I never thought I would be fighting you..." Neji said.

"Neji-nisan." Hinata said.

"Wait? They're siblings?" Naruto asked.

"They are members of the Leaf's oldest and most prestigious clan...the Hyuuga Clan. But they're not exactly siblings." Kakashi explained.

"Then what are they?" Sakura asked.

"They are members of the main house and branch house of the Hyuuga Clan. Hinata is in the main house and Neji is in the branch house. Those in the main house rule over those in the branch house, thus making them more like cousins." Sasuke said out of nowhere, earning a confused look from everyone.

"How do you all know this, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked. intrigued.

"I...hmmm...I read about it in the library, yep that's right, I read all about it there." Sasuke said and started to laugh nervously.

"Or maybe you're dating Hyuuga Hinata and she told you about it. Bah, who am I kidding, I forgot that you're a homosexual." Naruto said, causing the Uchiha to be enraged and lash out at him, only to be bonked by Sakura.

"Stop it Sasuke, Naruto is injured and you Naruto, stop provoking Sasuke." Sakura said, reprimanding both boys.

"Sasuke is right but many things have happened over the years between both houses and right now, they do get along very well." Lee added.

"That probably has to do with the fact that the branch house has to protect the main house at the cost of their own lives, probably creates alot of resentment among the two houses." Sasuke said.

"Now, let the match begin!" Hayate said as the two combatans were already on the floor.

"Hinata, you should give up now, you're too weak." Neji said, and then added on, "I know you've been training very hard to improve yourself but in the end, it will never matter because there will always exists an inrefutable gap between your skill level and my skill level. All of us are born with different skill levels, levels that indicate how proficient a ninja will become. Let's look at the last fight for example. It was obvious that the Namikaze was born with a higher skill level than the Inuzuka and despite all of the efforts of the Inuzuka boy, in the end Naruto won because he had the stronger skill level and thus a gap between those two existed. And the same goes for you and I, there's a gap that you can never overcome and this is why you will always lose against me. It's not fate, it's reality." Neji said.

"Even if there was no gap, you still wouldn't make a good shinobi, Hinata-sama. Do you want to know why?" Neji asked the girl.

"Why is he berating her so much?" Sakura said.

"You're too kind, you wish for harmony and will do anything to avoid conflict. Futhermore, you have no self-confidence. You even only took this exam only in order for your teammates to take it as well since the chunnin exam can only be taken in teams of three. You couldn't turn down your teammates' request in the end, could you?" Neji asked.

"You're wrong, Neji-nisan! I took this exam willingly so I can prove my strength to others, to show that I am not the little girl anymore, to anyone, especially you!" Hinata said with stern eyes.

"That's the way to say it Hinata!" Sasuke cheered, but then quickly calmed down when everyone looked at him.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Neji laughed.

"Why is he laughing for?" Naruto asked.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. I never believed that you, Hinata-sama, would be this foolish! You really think you can prove anything with that miniscule strength of yours? Don't be so naive, this isn't a world where you can overcome everything through sheer willpower. There is a gap that always exists between individuals and one who is ignorant of that gap is a fool and that is why you are a fool, Hinata." Neji said.

"Why are you saying this? Why can't I be strong?" Hinata asked.

"Because it is the truth, Hinata, the irefutable truth. Why do you think there are victors and losers in battles? That is because there was a gap that existed between both warriors, a gap that one could not overcome. Even if you were to train for ten years, all I will have to do is train for five and I would still be stronger and that is reality, Hinata, and it's time for you to wake up and realize it." Neji glared.

"Shut the hell up! Hinata, don't let that asshole get to you, he doesn't know what's he talking about!" Sasuke roared.

"You should shut your mouth and stay out of your business if you know what's good for you Uchiha." Neji said.

"What did you say?" Sasuke growled.

"You heard me. After all those training sessions you and Lee took with Gai-sensei, and yet neither one of you can even beat me. That is the proof that the gap exists and that I am right and you are fantasies of overcoming obstacles through sheer will is truly a fantasy. However, Hinata-sama, if you want to continue, then by all means I will not turn down this challenge as I will be more than happy to show you the gap between you and I." Neji smirked and then activated his Byakugan

"Why you..." Sasuke growled as he was getting mad and so was Lee who ended up clenching his fists to hold his anger.

"Then I will and I will show that I have become strong!" Hinata said.

'Hinata...' Kurenai thought.

_Flashback:_

"Stand Hanabi." Hyuuga Hiashi said to his youngest daughter.

"Hiashi-sama. I was instructed to take Hinata under my wings. As you know, she will face many situations where death is possible and I wanted to..." Kurenai started to say.

"Take her. The Hyuuga have no need for someone who is even weaker than someone five years her junior in terms of abilities. Now, leave, you're in the way." Hiashi said coldly.

Kurenai stepped outside and then Hinata was by the door, crying as she heard everything her father said.

_End Flashback_

'But since then, Hinata has constantly tried to become stronger and thus has changed. She is no longer the timid girl she used to be.' Kurenai thought with a hint of pride.

'Sasuke-kun is right, Neji doesn't know what he is talking about. I have become stronger and I will prove it!' Hinata said mentally as she activated her Byakugan and got into a strange stance and so did Neji.

"What kind of stance is that? I've never seen it before." Naruto asked.

"This stance belongs to the Leaf's strongest Taijutsu-ryuu, the Jyuuken." Lee said.

Both siblings started to exchange open palm strikes at each other, each blocking and attacking the other. Hinata then struck Neji, pushing him back.

"Did she get him?" Sakura asked.

"No, it wasn't deep enough." Naruto said.

"No, just a slight touch is enough, Naruto-kun. That's what makes the Hyuuga clan so great." Lee said, correcting Naruto.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asks.

"The Hyuuga clan have a very special taijutsu-ryuu that has been passed down. The Taijutsu that me, Lee, and Sasuke use is a style that specializes in delivering hard external blows in order to break the opponent's bones. However, the style that the Hyuuga clan uses, the Jyukenryuu, is a style that focuses on delivering internal damage, destroying the inner organs of the opponent. It may not look impressive but you'll feel it afterwards." Gai explains.

"And because one cannot train their internal body, it can be a critical hit for even the toughest guy." Kakashi said.

Back in the fight, Hinata was starting to press down on Neji.

'Hinata is in control.' Shino thought.

"Come on Hinata, you can do it girl!" Sakura yelled.

"However, to be able to attack the inner coils system of the opponent, where chakra travels through so close to the organs and can also damage organs, just who the heck are those guys? Better yet, how is it even possible to do such a thing when the inner coils are invisible to the naked eye." Naruto asked.

"That's because they possess the byakugan, the doujutsu (eye technique) that allows them to see through an opponent's body and thus see their inner coils. And also, the attacks of the Jukenryuu are different from a normal attack. It's almost like what I taught you back in Wave about chakra control. They basically release chakra from their palms into the opponent's body and thus damaging their inner coils system directly." Kakashi said.

Then, Hinata struck Neji in the gut, or so it would seem but then she coughed out blood her heart started to get crushed and in reality, Neji had struck her in the heart as he had grabbed her arm before she struck. Hinata pushed Neji's other arm out of the way and tried to strike him but Neji was able to grab it and strike underneath it. Neji then showed Hinata that he had sealed all of the chakra points in her arm.

"So, from the beginning..." Hinata gasped in disbelief.

"That's right, my eyes can see the opening points." Neji said.

"The opening points?" Naruto asked.

"Above the inner coils system exists 361 chakra points, also known as opening points and if you press them accurately, you can either increase the flow of chakra or shut it off, basically do whatever you want. And another thing, to be frankly speaking, neither me or Sasuke's Sharingan can see those points." Kakashi explained.

Neji smirked and then struck Hinata with an open palm attack, knocking the girl down.

"Now, do you see it? Do you know see the gap between you and I, the gap that you can never hope to overcome no matter how hard you tried. This is the true reality that exists in this world and your failure of realising it has led to this. Now forfeit." Neji said.

"I...I can't...I can never give up while...he's watching me fight." Hinata said as she struggled to get back up, 'Sasuke-kun, it's because of you that I've changed

_Flashback (2 years ago):_

Hinata was training in one of the many training grounds in Konoha by herself, hitting the dummy post.

"Hey, that's my post." Sasuke said as he arrived.

"G...gomen, Sasuke-kun." Hinata apologized.

"It's alright. Wait a minute, you're that cute girl that always stares at me during class, right?" Sasuke grinned.

"G...gomen nasai." Hinata with a massive blush on her face as she realizes that she was caught.

'Works every time.' Sasuke grinned mentally as he saw the girl blush.

"Anyway, I've never seen you here before. Are you coming just now?' Sasuke asked.

"Y...yes I am. I wanted to train in order to become stronger." Hinata said.

"Oh really? Well, I like to use this post at the same time as you do so guess what? How about we train together, you know, you become my sparring partner." Sasuke asked.

"Train together? B...But I don't think it would be such a good idea..besides I would only slow you down." Hinata said but then blushed when Sasuke lifted her chin up with his hands.

"We won't know until we try now will we? Besides, I don't mind training with a cute girl like you." Sasuke said, inches to her face. This caused Hinata to blush even more and faint.

Hey hey, Hinata-chan!" Sasuke said as he tried to wake her up.

Ever since that day, Sasuke-kun and I trained together and for the first time in since the death of my mother, I felt happiness in my heart. With Sasuke-kun, I could be myself and I had someone that truly cared about me and that would always help me when I need him. That's why I started to change because for the first time in my life, I finally found someone very dear and precious to me.

_End Flashback_

'And this is why I will never give up!' Hinata yelled mentally.

Hinata rushed at Neji and try to hit him only to be struck in the gut by Neji's palm attack and falls to the floor.

"Hinata!" Sasuke yelled.

"Hmm, now do you see the futility of all this? Proctor, call the match, she's not getting...huh?" Neji began to say but then his eyes widened as he saw Hinata stand back up again.

"Why must you go on with this? Wht are you trying to prove?" Neji asked.

"I am trying to prove that you're the one who's wrong Neji, the one who's foolish. As long as one has the will to do so, they can become stronger and overcome all obstacles just like I did. I got much stronger than before because I trained and believed in myself that I could overcome all obstacles and that is something you will never Neji-nisan because you are too blind to see the truth." Hinata said, breathing hard.

"Why you little bitch!" Neji growled and then headed straight for Hinata in order to kill her but then was stopped by Kurenai, Kakashi, Gai, and Hayate.

"Neji! You gave me your word that you would control your emotions when dealing with the main house." Gai said.

"So, does the main house get special treatment in the exams as well?" Neji growled.

Then, Hinata's heart start to complicate again and she fell to the ground, coughing blood.

"Hinata!" Kurenai said.

"Hinata!" Sasuke said and jumped down, followed by Lee and Sakura while Naruto while still resting his injuries.

"Hmm, it looks like you were wrong, Sasuke. She is still weak and there is still a gap that exists between me and her." Neji said.

"Neji...**You've just made a BIG mistake.**" Sasuke said, glaring at the Hyuuga.

"Oh, and what are you going to do about it?" Neji asked with a smirk.

"Crush you in the finals, that's what." Sasuke smirked back, pointing his fist to Neji.

"Hmm." Neji scoffed and then went back up.

The last two fights were total opposites of each other. The last one was between Dosu and Chouji, and even though the young Akimichi was fired up, he was easily defeated by the sound ninja who used the Akimichi's meat tank technique to his advantage by using his vibrations.

The one before it was a tragedy like the one with Hinata and Neji. Lee put on a display by not only bypassing Gaara's defenses using sheer speed, which helped Naruto concoct a plan to defeat the sand ninja, and was even able to wound the boy. Lee even was able to open all five gates in order to perform the ultimate move, the Ura Renge. But helas, it was all for naught as Gaara survived all of the onslaught and ended up crushing Lee's arm and leg using his Sabaku Sousou technique and was about to finish him off when Gai intervened, stopping the match and give the victory to Gaara. But what was worse is that the medics told Gai that thanks to Gaara's attack, Lee would never be able to continue as a ninja. This came as a shock to all as they came to respect the bushy-brow's hardwork and taijutsu skills.

But the show had to move on as the winners of the matches soon assembled on the arena floor.

"Congratulations on passing the preliminaries. (Cough) If you would all come and draw a number from this box," Hayate said and indicated to a box Anko was holding. After the nine finalists had drawn their numbers, each told Ibiki their number. He then scribbled something down on a note of paper. When he finished, he held it out for everyone to see.

"This is the match up of the main matches, which will be a tournament," Ibiki said, "Take a good look at the line up."

First match: Uchiha Sasuke vs. Hyuuga Neji

Upon hearing that, both boys smirked evilly.

Second match: Aburame Shino vs. Sabaku No Kankuro

Third match: Sabaku No Temari vs. Nara Shikamaru

Fourth match: Namikaze Naruto vs. Sabaku No Gaara

'Gaara...' Naruto thought.

'Namikaze Naruto...' Gaara thought

Fifth match: Dosu Kinuta will challenge one of the four remaining fighters.

"You have a month to train before the main matches," Hokage said, "I suggest you use that time well."

"Why a month?" Shikamaru asked.

"Because we have to send out invitations for everyone who has to be here to witness the exam," Hokage replied, "The judges will decide who becomes Chuunins and not."

"Judges?" Naruto asked.

"In this exam," The Hokage began to explain, "The ones who get promoted to Chuunins are those that show the judges that they have the qualities of a Chuunin. A ninja's true strength can only be measured in combat, and that's the purpose of the main matches. Judges are made up of important people from the villages, including the daimyo of the different countries."

"The second exam is finished," Anko barked, "Meet in the main arena in a month. Dismissed."

"Well then, I think it's about time I got to start training my dragon." Kyo said on top of a roof and then disappeared.

To be continued...

AN: Alright, the preliminaries are done and sorry if this chapter was short but we already seen these fights so many times and the only I truly changed a bit was Hinata vs Neji and that was because of Neji's personality change. The others would be similar to their original counterparts so I didn't really want to do it again. Anyways, ext will be the training phase and then the finals! Until next time!


	11. Let the training begin!

Author's Note: Naruto nor the characters of the story belong to me unfortunately and belong rather to Kishimoto Masashi. All I am doing is writing another version of his story according to my creative vision.

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 11: Let the training begin!

Sasuke was finished eating his breakfast when the door bell rang.

"Who is it?" Sasuke asked.

"It's me Kyo, open up." Kyo said.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked as he opened the door only to be knocked back by a jumping roundhouse kick courtesy of Uchiha Kyo (basically the kick Ichigo's dad gave Ichigo in the first episode)

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" Sasuke yelled as he got back up.

"A ninja must always be on alert every second of the day wherever they are, Sasuke." Kyo said with a stupid grin on his face.

"Alert my ass! You just wanted to kick me in the face didn't you? Why can't you ever be normal for once!" Sasuke barked back.

"How dare you think I would stoop so low? I was only trying to teach you an important lesson, my young apprentice." Kyo said.

"You're so full of crap, Kyo! Why are you here anyway?" Sasuke said.

"Glad you asked my young friend. I'm here because I'm going to be training you for your finals match." Kyo said with a grin.

"Oh fuck me." Sasuke cursed, shocking Kyo.

"How could you say such things after all the training I gave you?" Kyo said shocked.

"You called that crap training? That wasn't training, it was torture! You made me wear coals in my shoes, stay in a forest full of wolves for a week, made me climb mountains with hands tied behind my back and even made me go into the hot springs so I can take pictures of naked woman and that was when I was just eight years old! Even Gai trained me better than you!" Sasuke yelled.

"True but you see, I knew you would take the chunnin exams back then and thus this is why I made you go into such a rigorous training!" Kyo said in know-it-all tone.

"How the heck can you possibly know something like that when I was just eight?!" Sasuke asked.

"Because Sasuke...my sharingan allows me to see INTO THE WORLD OF TOMORROW!" Kyo said with a dramatic voice but the only thing that happened was a dust cloud coming through.

"That's it, I'm outta here." Sasuke said and then started to leave.

"Hmm, oh well too bad. I was going to teach you the Uchiha Clan's own unique taijutsu ryuu that has only been mastered by a few and is said to be even on par with the Jyuukenryuu. Such a shame that you won't let me teach it to you." Kyo said in a disappointed tone.

"I will do whatever you wish, my master." Sasuke said as he returned and bowed to Kyo.

"Alright then young grasshopper, let the torture...I mean training begin!" Kyo said in a dramatic pose.

'I am so screwed.' Sasuke said mentally.

Meanwhile, Naruto was walking down the streets of Konoha, reflecting on what has happened so far including his battle with Gaara.

"Sabaku no Gaara...he's a monster that has to be stopped, but how? He's the same as me, a Jinchuriki, and I never fought another Jinchuuriki before. And then, even speed and power aren't enough since even Lee couldn't beat him. What am I supposed to do?" Naruto asked as he was talking to himself.

'**Why are you so worried about that kid? Yeah, he's a Jinchuuriki but he's the container of the Ichibi Shukaku while you're the container of yours truly, Kyuubi, the nine-tailed fox."** Kyuubi said.

'What's your point, Kyuubi?' Naruto asked.

'**Let me explain something to you. For us bijuus, the number of tails indicate how much power each of us has. 9 is the strongest and one is the weakest. Now, do the math.'** Kyuubi explained.

'So your're saying that Gaara has the weakest bijuu out of the nine? So your chakra is stronger than his tailed beast's?" Naruto asked.

**'BINGO! So like I said, don't worry about that kid, kit. If you get in trouble, just call on my chakra and we'll crush that vermin. And oh by the way, you're being followed'** Kyuubi said.

"What?" Naruto said and then turned and saw Shina, with her cloak on, a few feet behind him.

"Who are you and why are you following me?" Naruto asked.

'I...I can't do this!' Shina thought upon and then turned to run away but Naruto used shunshin to appear in front of her and grabbed her arm.

"Answer me! Who are you and why are you following me?" Naruto asked angrily.

' I guess I have no choice. I hope you're right, Kyo.' Shina thought and then took off her hood and revealed a girl in her her late twenties with long brown hair and deep blue eyes. "My name is Shina, Uzumaki Shina, and I'm your aunt, Naruto." Shina said.

"My...aunt?" Naruto repeated, shocked.

"Yes, your mother was my older sister, Uzumaki Kushina." Shina said and tears started to come out as she continued, "Naruto, I'm so sorry. I should have been there for you when you were all alone, visited before but I just...I just couldn't bring myself to and I'm sorry, I really am!" Shina said.

"It's okay, auntie, it's okay. It wasn't your fault, and besides, I've grown alot. Just you showing up means alot to me." Naruto said with a smile as he hugged her.

"N...Naruto." Shina said, surprised at the boy's reaction.

"So, how was my mom like?" Naruto asked as he and Shina were walking

"She was pretty fiery and energetic but could also be a very sweet and gentle lady. She always cared for people and would do whatver it took to help them out. That's why she loved your father so much, because he cared so much about others." Shina answered.

"I see. Another question, what does the land of whirlpool looks like compared to Konoha?" Naruto asked.

"Well, it's not as grand as here but it's a very nice place to live in and we Uzumakis all our lives. Kushina was the first Uzumaki to have lived out of the land of Whirpool." Shina said.

"I see. Hmm, I'll think I'll visit this land as soon as I become Hokage and revive my dad's clan." Naruto said.

"Wait, you want to become Hokage and revive your dad's clan?" Shina asked.

"Of course. By becoming Hokage, I will be able to protect my precious people and provide peace for this land and reviving my dad's clan is something very important to me." Naruto said.

"I remember, you dad was the last of his clan which was wiped out years ago." Shina said, 'Naruto...he's just like his parents after all...' She thought.

"PERVERT!" A couple of female voices yelled and then a man with large white hair fell from the sky to the ground near Naruto and Shina.

"That was weird." Naruto said with a sweatdrop behind his head.

"Wait a minute...I know that guy." Shina said.

"Ouch...those girls can sure kick," The man said as he got back up and then saw the two relatives staring at him. "Wait a minute, is it you Shina? It is you beautful, beautiful Shina-chan!" The man said only to get kicked in the jewels by Shina, "W...why?" He groaned.

"Don't you dare call me that, ero-sennin!" Shina growled.

"Ero-sennin?" Naruto repeated.

"I told you not to call me that Shina! My name is Jiraiya!" Jiraiya said.

"Jiraiya, as in one of the three legendary sannins?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, that's right and you are?" Jiraiya asked as he's never seen Naruto before.

"My name is Namikaze Naruto." Naruto simply said.

"Namikaze Naruto? So you're his son, oh my you've grown so much!" Jiraiya said.

"Wait a minute? You mean you knew my dad?" Naruto asked.

"Of course I did, I after all did teach him." Jiraiya said with pride.

"I don't believe you." Naruto said deadpanned.

"Nani? You don't believe me? But I did train your dad, honest!" Jiraiya said.

"I don't believe it because I doubt my dad would have learned anything from a pervert like you." Naruto said.

"I forgot, I didn't properly introduce myself. Ahem, from all of the great lands in this world, there exists one man that strikes in the fear of the evildoers! A man so powerful that even Kami trembles upon hearing his name! A man that has no equal, a man that makes all the women scream and faint upon hearing just a syllable of his NAME! That man is me, Jiraiya, the legendary and powerful toad sannin! Now, awe at my awesomness!!!" Jiraiya said as he finished introducing himself in a dramatic pose.

"That actually makes you look less impressive." Naruto said, causing Jiraiya to fall to the ground

"He may be a pervert but he did in fact train your father, Naruto." Shina said.

"In fact, I can teach you one of your father's greatest jutsus." Jiraiya said.

"Really?" Naruto asked, now interested.

"Yes but since you're not impressed me, I will not teach it to you any longer...unless" Jiraiya said as he tried to trap the boy.

"What is it? I'll do anything!" Naruto asked.

"You will have to do a perilious mission for me." Jiraiya said with a serious look on his face.

"What kind of mission?" Naruto asked.

"Your mission will be...to find me a BABE!" Jiraiya said with a perveted grin, causing Naruto to fall to the ground.

'Once a pervert, always a pervert.' Shina thought with a sweatdrop.

"This is ridiculous! Are you being serious?" Naruto asked irritated.

"I am, young one, and until you do find one, I will not teach you your father's jutsu." Jiraiya said.

"Oh well, one must do great sacrifices to gain what they desire. Can't believe I'll have to use this stupid technique. Henge!" Naruto said and then transformed. Once the transformation was finished, in place of Naruto stood a tall, blond girl with pigtails, whisker marks on her face, blue eyes, an impressive rack and extremely attractive pair of legs, and both her breasts and privates were covered in smoke.

"Is this good enough, Jiraiya-sama?" the female asked with a wink.

"Naruto! How could you!" Shina said, appalled.

"Sweet Kami, this is the most beautiful thing I have seen in my life. Now, I can finally die happy. Matte, hold it right there for just a second." Jiraiya said with tears as he then took out a sketchbook and a pencil. "Now keep this form while I draw it for my next masterpiece!" Jiraiya said while laughing lecherously.

"Absolutely not." Naruto said and transformed back, "I gave you your babe, now you teach me that technique." Naruto said.

"Okay okay, I'll teach you. You're just like your father, can never appreciate the art of the nude female body." Jiraiya said.

"Okay first off, what jutsus have you mastered so far? And by the way, why are you still here Shina?" Jiraiya asked as they were now near a waterfall.

"I am here to make sure you don't corrupt his mind with your filth!" Shina growled.

"Well, let's see. I know Henge, Bushin, Kage Bushin, Kage Bushin: Semai, Kawarini, Fuuton: Kaze Ha Otoshi, Fuuton: Shippudan, Fuuton: Kaze Yaiba, Fuuton: Dai Tatsumaki, Fuuton: Rokujyuu Kaze Ha, Fuuton: Tenkazedou, Tenkazedou: Tatsumaki." Naruto said.

"My god, not many kids his age don't even nearly that many jutsus. Impressive. Okay, now, let me show you that technique of your father." Jiraiya said.

He then walks up to a tree and then concentrates his chakra and then a blue ball of chakra formed in his hand and then used it to smash through the tree, blowing it up.

"No way!" Naruto said.

"That my boy, is your father's Rasengan. It is a technique that demands the highest of chakra control and why it took him 3 years to master it." Jiraiya said.

"3 years?" Naruto repeated.

"Yep. Hold on a sec, I'll be right back." Jiraiya said and then left. He then came back minutes later with a couple of water balloons and a stack of rubber balls.

"What are those for?" Naruto asked.

"Those are tools that will help you learn the Rasengan. You see, this jutsu has three different steps that must be taught before using it. The first step emphasizes rotation, and what you have to do is simply summon your chakra and use it to make the water spin in many differections, eventually popping the balloon. The second step emphasizes power and you basically have to do step 1 but this time with a denser rubber ball. The third and final step is simply combining rotation and power to create the Rasengan and thus emphasizes control. Did you get it all that?" Jiraiya asked after explaning.

"Got it. Kage Bushin No Justu." Naruto said and then ten clones spawned.

"Okay guys, here's the plan. You five on the right will work on the first step while you other five will work on the second step." Naruto said and the clones nodded before getting to work.

"Wait, you know the secret behind that technique already?" Jiraiya asked, shocked.

"Yeah. Sarutobi-jiji told me about it when he showed me this technique." Naruto answered.

"Oh I see. So the old man's still kicking I see." Jiraiya grins.

"How do you know the Hokage?" Naruto asked.

"I know him because I was his student." Jiraiya grinned.

"No wonder, both of your are mega perverts." Naruto said, causing Jiraiya to growl in embarassement and Shina to giggle.

[Haruno Residence

Sakura was getting dressed in her room when she suddenly heard a knock on the door.

"Sakura dear, Are you busy? I need to talk to you." Her mother said behind the door.

"No I'm not mom, you can come inside." Sakura said.

The door and a woman in her thirties with shorter pink hair than Sakura, black eyes, and wearing a black shirt with gray skirt entered the room.

"What did you want to talk to me about, mother?" Sakura asked.

"Your sensei came by yesterday and told me that you made it to the preliminaries of the third stage and that you showed amazing skills in your draw with your friend Ino." Sakura's mother, Akira, said.

"He did?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, and he also told me some other details." Akira said.

"What other details?" Sakura asked.

"He told me that you told your friend that I hated you and that you ruined my life. Is that true, Sakura?" Akira asked.

"Yes it is mother." Sakura replied.

"Sakura, why would you say such things? I don't hate and I never thought you've ruined my life." Akira said.

"Well, it's kind of hard not to believe that considering that because of me, you had to quit your kunoichi career and thus quit your dreams of becoming an Anbu captain and on top of that, you've said you hate me a couple of times before and how I was a mistake." Sakura with closed eyes to keep the tears from coming out.

"I know I haven't been the best mother but none of this is your fault. I should have been a better mother to you, be there for you but I just didn't know how to handle it, I was afraid and angry as well but over the years, the only thing I have been proud of was you. The way you've grown into a strong kunoichi has made me so proud of you Sakura and I wouldn't trade it for a thing. So please, don't think that I hate you or that you've ruined my life because you haven't, in fact you're the best thing that has ever happened in my life" Akira says with a soft look on her face.

Sakura couldn't take it anymore and ran to her mother, hugging her and crying.

"Oh mother, I'm so happy you don't hate me. I hated myself for making you quit your dreams, and I just wanted you to be proud of me." Sakura said.

"I already am, Sakura-chan, I already am." Akira said.

"Well, I have to going to start working in the hospital again. So I'll see you later, mom." Sakura said as she wiped her tears and then left.

'Finally, I have my daughter back.' Akira smiled.

Back with Naruto, the clones were still hard at work with the first two steps.

"So Shina, have you heard of Kyo yet?" Jiraiya asked as he and the Uzumaki girl were supervising Naruto's training.

"Yes I have, in fact he's here, probably training Sasuke." Shina answered.

"I see. Good thing I'm teaching Naruto his dad's jutsu, he is also a very important piece of the future, no the most important piece of the future and not just that, but his adversary foretold in the prophecies is even worse than Sasuke's." Jiraiya said.

"That can't be! Uchiha Madara is pure evil! There can't be someone worse than him!" Shina said.

"But there is and man, from what I've heard, he's worse than Madara. To put it bluntly, he is the devil himself, evil incarnated in its purest form possible." Jiraiya said.

"Masaka..." Shina said in disbelief.

"They say he is ruthless, sadistic, psychotic, and pure evil. He kills simply for the pure thrill of it and he doesn't just kill you, he kills everyone that your existence has affected, your family, your friends, even your village. You heard what he did to the Namikaze clan of the Shippu(Hurricane) Village, didn't you?" Jiraiya asked.

"I did. The Namikaze clan, the strongest clan in the Hidden Village in the Hurricane and the strongest in all of the lands, destroyed in a single night except for one young boy, Namikaze Minato. They said that the one responsible even destroyed the entire village." Shina said as she recalled hearing the news about it.

"Yeah and from what I've heard, he has never lost a single battle, not even coming close to and has killed everyone that has faced him. Those that survived were later hunted down relentlessly and brutally killed and anyone that they met on their way were also killed." Jiraiya continued to explain.

"Do you know his name, Jiraiya?" Shina asked, terrified.

"His name is Pein, the leader of Akatsuki." Jiraiya said.

"Akatsuki?" Shina asked.

"Yeah. They are a group of nine S-class ninjas that hunt down whatever they want. They are currently in pursuit of the tailed-beasts and since Naruto is one, that makes him a target and on top of that, Pein is their leader so that proves to be extremely troublesome." Jiraiya said.

"Naruto..." Shina said saddened by what her nephew will have to face.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure I train him in order to be ready for when they make their move." Jiraiya said.

"So, have you guys been able to figure it out?" Naruto asked his clones.

"Not yet aniki, this jutsu is tough and we're starting to get exhausted." One of the clones said.

"I see, I knew it wouldn't be easy. Alright, I'll cancel the jutsu so that way I can get the information from you guys." Naruto said and the clones nodded. He then cancelled the jutsu and all of the information rushed into his brain.

"I see. This is definitely much harder than it looks but if my father could do it, so can I!" Naruto said and then picked up the water ballon in order to try to do the first step.

'Damn it! I just can't keep the chakra in a fixed point for me to spin it properly. What kind of jutsu is this?' Naruto said mentally as he struggled with the first step.

In one of the training grounds, Sasuke was training or rather, getting his ass kicked by Uchiha Kyo.

'Damn it! That fighting style he mentioned is no joke. It's like he's reading my mind!' Sasuke growled mentally as he tried to hit Kyo with everything but it was as if Kyo was always one step ahead no matter what.

"Had enough, Sasuke?" Kyo grinned.

"How in the world are you doing this? Even with using my sharingan to help my perception, I still can't hit you and don't tell me I'm slow because this has nothing to do with speed!" Sasuke growled.

"You're right, Sasuke. It has nothing to do with speed but rather with the Sharingan." Kyo said.

"Sharingan?" Sasuke said.

"Yep. You see, to learn this style, one must first gain the last tomoe in their Sharingan so it can be fully evolved. Then, that person must keep their Sharingan on all at times. But then, when they start fighting in that style, they must never use the sharingan." Kyo began to explain.

"I don't get it. You said the key was the sharingan and yet you don't want me to use it?" Sasuke asked.

"The reason for this is that once your body gets used to the constant usage of your Sharingan, then once it is off, your mind will continue to react as the same as if you have the Sharingan." Kyo said.

"I see, so that way it helps conserve chakra and if I do use the Sharingan, then the style will become even stronger." Sasuke said as everything clicked.

"Exactly. Now, let's get you that third tomoe." Kyo said and then activated his Sharingan and cracked his knuckles, making the boy gulp.

The rest of the day went by and night came, where everyone was fast alseep except for five people. One of them was Gaara who was looking at the full moon on top of a gold fish statue that found on top of a temple.

"I wonder how Namikaze Naruto's face will look like as we rip to pieces. I know, I know it doesn't matter brother but still, it would be fun to find out. But how are we going to kill him? Geez brother, you're such buzzkill, unlike you, I actually like to find new ways to kill people. Whatever we do, it's going to be very exhilirating." Gaara said as he was somehow talking to himself.

"You sure got me. Do you not go to sleep?" Dosu asked as he was on the temple rooftop.

"You're another one of those weaklings. What do you want?" Gaara asked with a smile.

"I was planning on killing you while you were sleeping but since you're awake, I'll fight you right here and right now. If I can kill you and then Sasuke, then I have a higher chance of becoming a chuunin. Hmm, I already know about your sand attacks but I wonder if its faster than sound." Dosu said.

"Hmm, oh, you want to kill him big brother? Okay." Gaara said.

'Big brother?' Dosu wondered.

"Tell me something vermin, how strong is your existence?" Gaara asked in a deeper tone.

"My existence? What are you talking about?" Dosu asked.

"If a fight to the death, the only two things that are challenged are our existences. The one with the stronger existence will win and devour his opponent's existence, completely erasing them from the face of the earth. That is the way of the strong and that is why you will die, because your existence is not strong enough." Gaara said and his eyes then turned yellow.

"What the hell? What's going?" Dosu said as he saw something unfolding in front of his eyes. He then saw something head for him and before he could even scream, it ran right through him, leaving a huge claw mark on the roof and leaving a very dead Dosu on the ground.

"My existence will never die." Gaara said.

"Wow. So that's his true identiy." Kabuto said as he was talking to Baki not too far from the sight.

"But is that alright? He was a oto-genin after all." Baki asked.

"He's no longer worth of any value, though he was useful in seeing the strength of your weapon." Kabuto said.

'Kabuto and Baki of the sand? What are they doing so late at night?' Hayate said as he overheard them talking.

"Do you think it's a good idea meeting like this? They still don't know you're actually a sound ninja not a leaf. If they find out who you are, it would cause great trouble for us." Baki said.

"There's no need to worry. Everything will be going according to plan, you can trust me and Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto replied.

'How can this?' Hayate thought

"Here our plans. Also, it's about time they know about this plan so please inform them." Kabuto said as he gave a scroll to Baki containing the plans.

"Yeah.." Baki replied as he grabbed the scrolls.

"I'll excuse myself then." Kabuto said and started to leave.

'Our ally, the sand, was already connected with the sound. I must inform Hokage-sama of this immediately." Hayate as he prepared to leave.

"Oh and one more thing. I'll clean up the mess." Kabuto said with a crazed look on his face, "I'll test what kind of guys they have moving around." he added.

"No I'll do it. As a partner, the sand should do something too. Besides, it's only one rat, it's no problem." Baki said.

Hayate discovered that he has been spotted and disappeared and so did Baki. They both ended up on top of a building at the same time.

"Mr.Examiner, what a surprise to see you." Baki said.

'It looks like I will have to fight.' Hayate said as he coughed and then took out his sword and then rushed toward Baki and looked as if he was split into three.

"Leaf Style: Dance of the Crescent Moon!" Hayate yelled out and then slashed Baki around his right shoulder.

"This technique is the legendary dance of the crescent moon...To be able to master it at such a young age. I'm impressed but you see, a material sword can be stopped rather easily." Baki said and Hayate find himself unable to pull his sword out.

"However, a blade of wind cannot be stopped by no one!" Baki said.

'This is...' was all Hayate thought before he was cut up by a blade of wind.

The next morning, Naruto was eating breakfast while thinking over the steps of the Rasengan.

'Jiraiya-san said in order to master the Rasengan, three steps have to be masterd. The first two require rotation, with the second one just adding more power. The third one is a combination of both steps. It's much harder than I thought.' Naruto thought.

'To think about it, it's like a trying to form a tornado or hurricane really...Eureka, that's it!' Naruto said mentally and then finished his breakfast and then headed back to the springs.

Meanwhile, All of the jounins were assembled in the council room where the Hokage and two council members were seated.

"Hayate was killed?" Kakashi said in shock.

"Yes. He was found by the Kikyou castle this morning." The Hokage answered.

"Was the opponent Orochimaru?" Anko asked.

"No, we can't make that assumption. Hayate must have overheard someone from the sound and someone from the sand talking about their plans. The one thing for sure, Orochimaru is definitely up to something alright." Kakashi said.

"Then we should cancel the exams with Orochimaru." Raidou said.

"No. He already revealed himself to Anko and urged not to cancel it, this chunnin exam among shinobi allies." Hokage said.

"What are you saying?" Homura asked.

"Orochimaru has the power to destroy a small country by himself. Since escaping this village many countries have set their eyes on him. Plus he coincidentally has a grudge against this village and many countries would want him." The Hokage explained.

"Then that means one of our allies has joined up with Orochimaru to betray the leaf?" Raidou said.

"Well, the alliance agreement is nothing more than a verbal promise, it hasn't really stopped any great wars in the past." Kakashi said.

"Either way, we don't have enough information, let us not worry needlessly." Hokage said.

"We have already have ANBU gathering information in other countries. We shouldn't be too focused on this, the enemy may try to use that to their advantage." Koharu said.

"Plus, I trust you guys. If the time comes, we will assemble all of our strength and fight." The Hokage said, and all of the jounins nodded. They, among with the council members, started leave until there was only Kakashi and the Hokage.

"Now, what did you want to ask me Kakashi?" The Hokage asked.

"Ah yes that. Hokage-sama, do you know anyone by the name of Kyo?" Kakashi asked and as soon as he did, the Hokage's eyes widened as if they had seen a ghost.

"No way!" Jiraiya said as he was seeing Naruto performing the Rasengan in front of him, 'That's impossible! It took his father 3 years to master that jutsu and he did it in one day! He's incredible!' Jiraiya thought in shock.

"You see, what really helped is my affinity with wind. If you think about it, the Rasengan is basically a compressed and smaller tornado, thus causing more internal damage than external damage. So, all I had to do is to visualize this like trying to form a hurricane or tornado and with the help of Kakashi-sensei's chakra exercises back in wave, I'm able to do the technique. Unless you think about it that way, it becomes much harder to master it." Naruto said.

"But why would a tornado help you learn it?" Jiraiya asked.

"That's because a tornado has the same qualities; both use a combination of intense rotation with maximum power. So in the end, you are trying to compress a tornado of chakra into a small ball shape in order to be used to cause tremendous internal damage." Naruto explained.

"Wow, you're a genius. Alright then, are you ready to take it to the next level?" Jiraiya asked.

"Next level? I thought this was it." Naruto asked, confused.

"You see, the Rasengan that your father mastered was the first part of an even bigger jutsu. You now have to add your nature manipulation into it." Jiraiya said.

"Adding my nature manipulation?" Naruto repeated.

"Yep and let me tell you something, this step is unlike any of the others. In fact, not even your father was able to do it and he was a genius like you." Jiraiya said.

"But I'm not my father, I'm Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto and I will finish this technique!" Naruto said with a smirk.

"Well, it looks like we finally did. Nice job, Sasuke, now we can move on to the next phase of your training." Kyo says with a smirk as a beat-up Sasuke was looking at him through a Sharingan with three tomoes now.

[Kirikagure

"Mizukage-sama, a letter from Konoha has arrived." A man wearing a blue robe said as he handed the letter to the Mizukage.

"It looks like we have been invited to see the Chunnin Exams in Konoha." The Mizukage said, and judging by the voice, it would be safe to assume that the Mizukage was a female.

"Shall I prepare your things for the trip, Mizukage-sama?" The man asked.

"Yes Kaneda." The Mizukage said and then the man disappeared.

"Konoha, huh? Isn't that where Sasuke and Naruto are from? It's been a while since we last saw them, I wonder how strong they've gotten. What do you think, Mizukage-sama?"Shinji said with a grin as he was laying back against the wall in the room. The Mizukage took off her hat and it was none other than Haku.

"I think it will be quite fun to see them again." Haku said with a smile.

It seems some familiar faces have made big names for themselves and are now headed for Konoha. Next chapter: Promises and Confrontation.


	12. Promises and Confrontations

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 12: Promises and Confrontations

Three weeks have passed since the start of the month, and new feelings, and new revealations are about to be revealed.

"Welcome to Konoha Hospital...Sasuke?" Sakura said as she was at the info desk with a nurse outfit.

"What's up Sakura?" Sasuke replied.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked.

"I could say the same for you. I've never seen you around here before, especially dressed up like this. Are you dressing up this way so you can take of Naruto if he goes to the hospital?" Sasuke asked with a perverted grin but was then punched upside the head by a furiously blushing Sakura.

"You are such a pervert. I seriously don't know how Hinata can stand you sometimes!" Sakura yelled.

"Hinata? What are you talking about?" Sasuke said seriously, trying to deny things.

"Oh don't even try it Sasuke. Everyone knows you and Hinata are dating. I mean, you were about to kill Neji when he fought Hinata and you even knew things that only she could tell you. You would have to be a retard not to figure out what was going on." Sakura said with a smirk as she had the Uchiha blushing, "She's in room 301." Sakura said and Sasuke nodded before leaving. "Oh and you guys keep it down alright?" Sakura snickered.

"OH GROW UP!" Sasuke roared as he figured out the sexual undertone, and headed toward the elevator. Once he was on the third floor, he left the elevator and headed for room 301. He was about to open it when Hyuuga Hiashi came out of it.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Hiashi said in a stern tone. The clan leader had never liked the boy around his daughter when the boy brought her back home from training, especially because of his ruffian attitude and the fact that the Hyuuga and Uchiha used to have a rivalry made things worse.

"Hyuuga Hiashi-sama." Sasuke said, and then he entered the room. There, he saw Hinata lightly crying on her bed.

"Hinata-chan! Did he say anything or do anything to you!" Sasuke said as he rushed over to his girlfriend.

"He berated me...for losing to Neji." Hinata answered as she tried not to cry, "I...didn't disappoint you...did I?" Hinata asked.

"Of course not! You could never disappoint me Hinata-chan!" Sasuke replied, shocked that she would ask such a question. Then in a surprising move, Hinata grabbed hold of Sasuke's shirt.

"Then why! Why does everything I do disappoint him?! I try, I try to do everything I can to impress him, I...I train so hard just to be strong in his eyes Sasuke-kun, I really do! But...it's always the same, he always berates me! I...I just don't know what to do anymore...Sasuke-kun." Hinata said as she broke down and started to cry. Then, she gasped as Sasuke kissed her some of her tears.

"Listen to me Hinata-chan, did you think you did your best against Neji?" Sasuke asked with a genuine smile on his face. Hinata nodded and he continued, "Well then, it doesn't matter what others think, as long as you know you did your best, it's all that matters so don't let him get to you okay, Hinata-chan?" Sasuke smiled.

"Arigato, Sasuke-kun." Hinata said as she wiped her tears and smiled.

"Such a heartwarming conversation! Oh Sasuke, I never knew you had such a romantic side!" Kyo said as he tears flowing from his eyes after watching the scene.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE? BETTER YET HOW DID YOU GET HERE?" Sasuke asked as he and Hinata were startled by the man.

"Keep it down Sasuke, we are in a hospital." Kyo said, completely ignoring Sasuke's question.

"Seriously, why are you here?" Sasuke asked.

"Oh for no reason really, just wanted to annoy you Sasuke since it's so much fun!" Kyo said with a stupid grin.

"You're impossible."Sasuke sighed.

"Ano...may ask your name?" Hinata asked.

"Oh yeah. My name is Kyo and you must be the Hinata-chan whose name Sasuke was moaning intensely yesterday while he was unconscious from training all day." Kyo added with a smirk, and this cause both teenagers' faces to turn red.

"It's not what you think Hinata-chan!" Sasuke said to the girl then turned to Kyo, "I am seriously going to murder you!" Sasuke growled.

"Anyways Sasuke, we gotta head back so we can train some more." Kyo said, completely ignoring the young man's glare.

"Now?" Sasuke whined as he wanted to spend more time with Hinata.

"Yes now unless you want to get crushed by Hyuuga Neji, the genius of the Hyuuga Clan, Sasuke." Kyo said with a serious look on his face.

"Alright, you got a point. Oh well, I guess I'll see you later Hinata-chan." Sasuke smiled.

"Matte Sasuke-kun, I need to ask you a favor." Hinata said.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked.

"I...I know you're angry at Neji-nisan for what he did to me...but I want you to promise that you'll save Neji." Hinata said.

"What? Hinata-chan, he nearly killed you!" Sasuke protested.

"I know how he tried but I know that he didn't use to be this way but one day, something happened that made him change into the person he is today. Please Sasuke-kun, save him from himself, please?" Hinata pleaded.

"You know I can never say no to you. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to beat the crap out of him." Sasuke smirked and then left with Kyo.

"She seems like the kind of woman the Uchiha clan needs to start over again." Kyo said as the two Uchihas were outside the hospital.

"It's not only you that changed me...she also changed me. Her kindness and love helped me overcome the grief and void I had in my heart." Sasuke said.

"I see." Kyo said.

The Hokage was in his room, lookint at the pictures of the deceased Hokages, as he reminisced of his conversation with the Hokage a couple two weeks ago.

_Flashback:_

"Did you just say...Kyo?" The Hokage asked.

"Yes sir. Is something wrong?" Kakashi asked.

"It seems that the events that have been prophesized all those years are in motion."The Hokage said.

"What events Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked.

"What I am about to say never leaves this room, Hatake Kakashi." The Hokage with such a serious face that it made the Jounin nervous.

"H...Hai." Kakashi gulped.

"Kyo's full name is Uchiha Kyo and he is the younger brother of Uchiha Madara, the founder of the Uchiha Clan." The Hokage said.

"Nani? But how the Uchiha Clan was founded at the time of the Shodaime Hokage, how can that man possibly be still alive?" Kakashi asked.

"That I do not know, you will have to ask him yourself. If he is truly here, then he came to take Sasuke under his wings in order to nurture the boy into the dragon needed to kill Uchiha Madara who is also alive." The Hokage said.

"That's a bit much to take, Hokage-sama. I had no idea Sasuke was destined for such a great event." Kakashi said.

"It's not just Sasuke. Naruto is destined for great things, even greater than Sasuke." The Hokage said.

"Really?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes. He is destined to become Hokage of this village and usher a new era of peace and prosperity unlike the Ninja World has ever seen before and unite all of the lands into one." The Hokage said.

"S...sugoi. Naruto is really going to do all that?" Kakashi asked in awe.

"It has already been prophecized by the great elders of Tianman Mountain located near Fire Country." The Hokage said.

"The great elders? Who are they?" Kakashi asked.

"The Great Elders are those in which the new Hokage and their council of selected individuals visit to gain knowledge about the future so they can be on alert for when the time comes. Actually, Namikaze Minato was actually prophecized about his death." The Hokage revealed.

"Wait a minute! If he knew he would die, then why not try to avert it!" Kakashi asked.

"Because the prophecies foretold by the Great Elders are final and can never be avoided because these prophecies must take place for the ninja world to continue existing. We all knew what they meant and so did Minato and that is way he let things happen the way they did, just like I will in the upcoming finals in my battle with Orochimaru." The Hokage said and closed his eyes.

"WHAT? You can't be serious! Are you seriously willing to do nothing happen about this?" Kakashi asked, as all of this was too much for him.

"I must! For the sake of the ninja world, sacrifices have to be made Kakashi. I don't expect you to understand yet but everyone that has come before me has understood this and so have I. Besides, it is a fate that is unavoidable and one that I have resigned myself to for a while." The Hokage said with a grin.

"But Hokage-sama, if you die, then we will have no one to help this village! Naruto is too young!" Kakashi said.

"You're wrong. After me, another Hokage will be named and help this village heal itself." The Hokage replied.

"Do you know who?" Kakashi asked intrigued.

"Unfortunately, they did not tell me. All they told me is that a new Hokage will rise and take my place. Besides, I have lived long enough, it's my time to pass the torch to the new generation just as it was intended to be." The Hokage said.

"I see. Thank you for telling me this Hokage-sama and I will make sure to not to interfere." Kakashi said in defeat and then poofed away.

_End Flashback_

"Trust me Kakashi, I would want to live a few more years but it must be done for the sake of peace." The Hokage sighed and then put on his hat and then headed off.

"Today, we are going to have our history lesson outside." Iruka said as he had gathered his class on top of the academy building near the Hokage mountain where all four faces of the Hokages were sculpted onto.

"As you all know, these stone carvings all represent the Hokages, from the first to the fourth." Iruka said as he started his lecture.

'Big difference from that geezer of today.' Konohamaru snicked mentally as he compared the stone carvings to his grand-father's current appearance.

"Iruka-sensei! Who's the fifth?" A girl asked.

"Well, it hasn't been decided yet but...it may be your sensei!" Iruka said with a grin.

"Ah yes. A joke is always good from time to time. Looks like you have a nice class Iruka." The Hokage laughed with his pipe in his mouth.

"Hokage-sama..." Iruka laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his head.

"It's Sandaime-sama!" One of the students exclaimed.

"Ah! What are you doing here, geerzer?!!" Konohamaru asked.

"I came to look at the faces as well." The Hokage said.

"Perfect timing. Can you come over here please Hokage-sama?" Iruka asked.

"Sure." The Hokage nodded and walked over to Iruka.

"This is the owner of the third face on that mountain, Sandaime Hokage. Sandaime was said to be the strongest of all and was even called the Professor because of his genius." Iruka lectured.

"Hey Iruka! Don't use the past tense." The Hokage reprimanded the chunnin.

"Gomen, Hokage-sama." Iruka laughed nervously.

"NANI? Is that geezer really that strong? Doesn't look like it to me!" One of the male students asked.

'Yup, exactly.' Konohamaru said mentally.

"Hey! To be given the name Hokage means that you are the strongest in the village!" Iruka yelled.

"Alright! Then I'll be become the Godaime Hokage cause you'd be cool and strong right?" One of the male students exclaimed.

"Not with your grades you won't..." Iruka said, shooting the boy's argument down.

"Ha, ha! I'll be counting on you guys! Unlike me, you kids are really young, the name Hokage may come from someone in your group." The Hokage laughed and then smirked, "You only get one life so don't try to choose an impossible path. Live and die as you like, however..protecting a precious person. You must never forget to protect those precious to you." The Hokage added on.

"A precious person?" A student asked.

"Someone that you acknowledge with your heart, your love and trust. Do you have someone like that?" The Hokage asked.

"Yeah, my brother and parents." One student replied.

"For me it's my friends." Another said.

"Then Hokage-sama? Do you have someone like that?" A student asked.

"Of course I do." The Hokage answered.

"WHO WHO?" The students asked.

"My grandson Konohamaru," The Hokage began to say causing his grandson to grin, "And everyone in this village too." The Hokage grinned, 'Just like you used to, Minato, and that is why, despite what has been prophecized to me, I will fight every fiber of my soul to protect this village.' The Hokage added mentally.

"Hey Sakura!" Ten-Ten said as she entered the hospital with a flower in her hand.

"Hey Ten-Ten! Huh, who are these flowers for?" Sakura asked.

"They're...they're for Lee." Ten-Ten said with a blush.

"Really? Wow, I never knew you liked him, Ten-Ten!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Well I do. He's someone very precious person to me. He's always been supportive of me and there for me when I needed the most. I'm also here because I want to be there for him since he can longer be a shinobi" Ten-Ten said, the part sadly.

"So you've heard the news?" Sakura asked.

"Gai-sensei told me about it. Apparently, that sand guy crushed his arm and leg. I hope he pays for what he did to Lee!" Ten-Ten said.

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun will beat him!" Sakura grinned.

"Naruto is fighting Gaara?" Ten-Ten asked.

"Yep and he will win, I just know it." Sakura said.

"You really do believe in Naruto don't you Sakura?" Ten-Ten asked, startling the girl whose features then softened.

"I do, ever since in the academy, I've always believed he could do anything and everything he set his sights on, he always did it in the end. That's why I believe he will beat Gaara, for Lee's sake." Sakura said.

"Arigato Sakura, that means alot to me." Ten Ten smiled .

"Now, let's go cheer Lee up." Sakura smiled.

They both headed for his room and entered it but then they didn't see him inside but rather outside, doing push-ups with a nurse there trying to stop him.

"Lee-kun..." Ten Ten said.

"Lee-san! Please you must stop this! Your body isn't..." The nurse started to say.

"Please be quiet for a bit!" Lee said, cutting her off, surprising everyone, 'I am not finished yet.' He said mentally as images of Gaara, Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji came up in his mind.

"199..." Lee said as he struggled to the push-ups and then finally gave out and fell to the ground, fatigued. The girls quickly rushed out to him.

"I'll bring in the stretcher." The nurse said and ran off to get it.

"You see, that is the reason why I fell in love with him, Sakura. No matter what happens...he never gives up...never." Ten-Ten said, crying.

"Ten-Ten." Sakura said.

Meanwhile, Naruto and his clones were training near the waterfalls in order to complete the nature manipulation phase of the Rasengan.

'No wonder my father never completed it! It's insanely hard! Just trying to put the wind into the Rasengan is hard!' Naruto said mentally.

"Well, you're sure training hard, Namikaze Naruto." said a familiar voice.

"Sabaku No Gaara." Naruto said.

"It's nice to see you a few days before the exam Naruto, and it's nice to see you're back to full form. Wouldn't want to kill you if you were in a weakened state. That would be very boring." Gaara said grinning.

"Why are you here?" Naruto growled.

"I came here to talk with my adversary, that's all." Gaara said.

"Talk? You've got to be kidding me." Naruto said.

"Oh but it's true. Trust me Naruto, I will kill you but not here. The chunnin exam arena will make a far better place for your grave." Gaara said with a smirk.

"Sorry Gaara but I don't plan on dying yet. I still have my dreams." Naruto said.

"Dreams? Feh, dreams are for the weak, Naruto." Gaara scoffed.

"What is up with you? Why must you act like this?" Naruto asked, getting irriatated by this young man.

"Why? Because I can, and also, because we are strong Naruto, not weak and dreams are for the weak." Gaara said.

"You're wrong about that! Dreams are for everyone, and dreams are what makes us strong!" Naruto said, but then glared when Gaara started to laugh, "What's so funny?!" Naruto roared.

"You, Naruto, you're the one who's funny. You strong and yet you think like the weak do. I just don't understand why you would do such a crazy thing. Last time I checked, I don't have a dream and I nearly killed you back at the forest of death." Gaara said.

"Listen Naruto, we are both strong and we are both jinchuurikis. Instead of acting like those pathetic weaklings called humans, start acting like a true jinchuuriki and only fight for yourself. If you do these two things, then you'll become much stronger." Gaara continued.

"I don't need your advice Gaara, I have already gotten stronger than before and this time I will crush you!" Naruto said.

"Oh really? Hmm, even if you do by some miracle crush me as you say, you will still have to face big brother and judging by your current strength, you won't even make a scratch on him." Gaara smirked.

"Who do you mean by big brother?" Naruto asked.

"Don't worry about it, Naruto. If you do beat me, you'll find out soon enough." Gaara grinned evilly.

"What do we have here? I leave for just a little while and someone is harassing my student." Jiraiya said as he entered the scene.

"Hmm, it seems our conversation has to end here Naruto. Oh well, see you at your funeral, Namikaze Naruto." Gaara said with a crazed look and then left.

"Who the heck is that guy?" Jiraiya asked.

"The one I need to beat in the exams, and in order to do so, I need to finish my dad's Rasengan, even if it kills me!" Naruto said, and then resumed his training.

"Hey Naruto, I want to teach you something."Jiraiya said.

"Teach me what?" Naruto asked.

"This! Kuchiyose No Jutsu!" Jiraiya said as he bit one his fingers then went through a couple of seals and then summoned a large toad with an armor on.

"Amazing." Naruto said.

"I would give you the chance to sign a contract with the toad clan but we don't have time for that, you still have the Rasengan to finish. We'll keep this technique for a later time but right now you have a technique to finish." Jiraiya said.

"Right." Naruto nodded.

"Alright Sasuke, let's take a break." Kyo asked.

"Why?" Sasuke asked, with his Sharingan still on and have been on for the past 3/4 of this month.

"Because I want to check something with you." Kyo said. He walked up to the younger Uchiha and then took a piece of paper out, "Here, put your hand on this paper and something will happened." Kyo said.

Sasuke then put his hand on the paper and it suddenly crumpled.

"Nice. It seems your elemental affinity is lightning." Kyo said.

"Not bad. Do you know any lightning jutsus?" Sasuke asked.

"Nope but maybe the person hiding behind that those bushes does. Come out whoever you are." Kyo said and a few seconds later, Kakashi came out.

"Kakashi-sensei. What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked.

"I actually came to meet this Kyo or should I say Uchiha Kyo as you failed to mention to me before Sasuke, in person." Kakashi replied.

"So I guess you must have learn my true identity." Kyo grinned.

"Sorry if I didn't tell you before but Kyo told me not." Sasuke said.

"It's alright. Anyway, lucky for you guys, I know some lightning jutsus. Do you want me to teach you one?" Kakashi asked.

"Of course!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"Kyo-san, I would like to talk to you later in private." Kakashi said low enough for only Kyo to hear, and the latte nodded.

"Alright, Sasuke. Watch closely." Kakashi said then did a couple of seals and then put his right hand down and clutched it with his left hand. Electricity then started to generate from his right hand.

"What is that?" Sasuke asked.

"That is my original technique, the Chidori. It's a high-speed thrust that requires the Sharingan in order to be most effective and can only be fired 2 or 3 times at max." Kakashi explained. He then did a seal and then another Kakashi appeared next to him.

"This Kage Bushin will help you teach you this move while I talk to your sensei." Kakashi said and then he and Kyo walked off leaving Sasuke and the clone.

"I want to know something, Kyo-san." Kakashi started to say.

"What is it?" Kyo asked.

"The Hokage told me everything, that you are the brother of Uchiha Madara. But my question is, how can you still be alive after all those years. It's been nearly a hundred years since the founding of the Uchiha Clan, you should be dead by now." Kakashi asked.

"The reason why I am alive is because when I found out about the fate of the clan, I had a group of friends create a technique that would allow me to create a body for myself so when I am about to die or have become weak, I can transfer to that body. I did so for all those years until I could find the dragon." Kyo explained.

"And Sasuke is that dragon, and Naruto is the wind of a new era. Mataku (Geez...), who would have thought that in my team, that two of my students would be destined for such great things and even the third one, with her skills, can become as great as Tsunade." Kakashi said.

"You should know that things like that will happen as the new generation will always be stronger than the previous generation." Kyo said, and then took out a pack of cigarettes and then took out one and lit it up, "Do you want a smoke?" Kyo asked with a grin.

The last week flew by, and the day of the finals was finally upon the village. A huge crowd had filled the seats of the stadium as the finalists were on the battleground. Sasuke, who was now wearing a black shirt with the uchiha fan on the back, black shorts, bandages on his arms and legs and black shoes, was looking around for Naruto but could not find him.

'Where the heck is Naruto? There's no way he'll miss this opportunity.' Sasuke thought.

'Namikaze Naruto...did you decide to run away from me?' Gaara thought as he recalled the conservation he had with the blonde a couple of days ago.

"Hey wait, where's Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked as she looked around for the blonde.

"I have no idea, I haven't seen him at all." Kakashi said.

"Kakashi-sensei! You're early!" Sakura said shocked, causing the man to go into a depressed mode.

"Don't worry Sakura, he'll be here." Ino said to cheer her friend.

"Have you found Naruto yet?" The Hokage asked up in his seat.

"We have a few ANBU teams looking for him but Hokage-sama, we haven't heard much about Orochimaru but just we'll be ready just in case." Raidou, the jounin, whispered.

"I understand." The Hokage said.

"Hokage-dono, it is finally an honor to meet you." Haku said even though she looked more like in her twenties next to a Henge. Behind her was Shinji and two new people. The one in the middle of the three had shoulder length gray hair, cold blue eyes, a black shirt, black pants, black fingerless gloves, his mist forehead protector on his forehead, and a large sword that looked quite foreign. The third one has shoulder length light blue hair, jagged teeth, blue eyes, a black sleeveless shirt, white pants, a water bottle attached to his pants, his forehead protector on his neck, and a large zanbantou behind his back.

"Are you the new Mizukage I heard about?" Hokage asked.

"Yes I am sir. I have heard alot about you as well and I hope we can become good friends and allies, Hokage-dono." Haku said.

"Of course. Oh, Kazekage-dono, it's also nice to meet you as well. You must be tired from your journey." The Hokage said as he saw the Kazekage.

"It's not a good thing at all that it takes place here this time. While you're still young this trip may have been to much for you Hokage-sama. Maybe it's time you decided on the Godaime?" The Kazekage asked.

"Ha, ha, ha. Please don't treat me like an old man, Kazekage-dono. I intend to continue this for a few more years." The Hokage laughed even though he knew what he said was a lie.

"Well now, let's begin." The Hokage said as he stood up from his seat to face the audience, "Welcome everyone to the Hidden Leaf Chunnin Exam! Now, we will start the main tournament matches between the eight participants who made it through the preliminaries! Please stay and watch until the end!" The Hokage announced.

"It's supposed to be eight, then why is one missing, Hokage-sama?" The Kazekage asked and the Hokage stayed silent.

"There's something I'd like to tell you before the matches. Take a look at this." The jounin proctor known as Genma said and then showed a piece of paper that had the tournament brackets on it.

"There has been some minor changes to the tournament so check who you are fighting once again." Genma instructed.

'I had an extra first round match...Did that Dosu guy forfeit?' Shikamaru thought.

"Yo proctor." Sasuke said.

"What is it?" Genma asked.

"What happens if Naruto doesn't show up?" Sasuke asked.

"Then he'll be disqualified, simple as that." Genma answered.

'Damn it! Hurry up and get here, Naruto!' Sasuke thought.

'Did Gaara kill that boy despite my warnings of not trying to attract attention? ' Baki thought as he recalled day Gaara visited Naruto

_Flashback:_

"Where are you going Gaara?" Baki asked as he saw the red-haired boy heading for the door.

"To have some fun, that's all." Gaara replied with a smirk and then left.

_End Flashback_

'Damn that Gaara.' Baki thought.

"Alright guys, this is the final test. The arena may be different, but the rules are similar to the ones in the preliminaries. One of you wins by either knocking your opponent out, killing them or making them forfeit. But if I determine that the match is over, then I will step in to stop it, you got that?" Genma said and the finalists nodded.

"Now, we will begin with the first match between Hyuuga Neji and Uchiha Sasuke. Everyone else, please go back to the waiting room to wait your turn." Genma instructed.

"Hey Hinata, it's free here!" Kiba said as he and Hinata entered the stands to watch the fight.

"This is gonna be one hell of a fight." Kiba said as they sat down.

"Sasuke-kun..." Hinata said.

"Who would have guessed that the Uchiha kid and the Hyuuga kid would be fighting against each other, especially this early?" Said one of the chunnin examiners.

"I wonder who's gonna win though." The other asked.

"Akamaru, what's up?" Kiba asked as he heard his dog moaned. His dog then did a noise, and Kiba's eyes widened, "What? Where?" Kiba asked and then looked around and saw strange people with masks in the stands. 'Why is an Anbu here? What is going on?' Kiba thought.

"Hmm, it looks like you have something to say to me, Sasuke?" Neji smirked.

"Like I said before, I will crush you." Sasuke said as he pointed his fist to the Hyuuga with his Sharingan flaring.

'He's confident...too bad there is still a gap between him and I.' Neji smirked as he unleashed his Byakugan. "It doesn't matter how much training you did, you're still too weak to defeat me Sasuke." Neji said.

"We won't find out until we fight but let me tell you something. If you think I'm the same Sasuke you know then you're in for a big surprise Neji. So let's just shut up and fight!" Sasuke grinned.

"The first match of the Chunnin finals! Begin!" Genma said and the crowd roared in anticipation as the finals had finally begun.

Namikage Hokage preview (with YYH theme):

Hey this is me Sasuke, and my fight is the first to start the finals. That bastard Neji thinks he's stronger than me but what he doesn't know is that I've trained my butt off to win this fight not just for my sake but Hinata's as well and if he thinks he'll win this one easily then he's got another thing coming because I'm about to show you moves you've never seen before as I'm going to take him down next time on Namikaze Hokage!

AN: Sorry again for a short chapter but I really wanted to get this out of the way. Now, the next chapters are going to be long since I'm a martial arts fan and I'm going to give my 110 percent to make the Neji vs Sasuke and Gaara vs Naruto fights extraordinary. And again, keep reviewing!


	13. The Dragon and the Tiger

Author's Note: Naruto nor the characters of the story belong to me unfortunately and belong rather to Kishimoto Masashi. All I am doing is writing another version of his story according to my creative vision.

"Hmm, it looks like you have something to say to me, Sasuke?" Neji smirked.

"Like I said before, I will crush you." Sasuke said as he pointed his fist to the Hyuuga with his Sharingan flaring.

'He's confident...too bad there is still a gap between him and I.' Neji smirked as he unleashed his Byakugan. "It doesn't matter how much training you did, you're still too weak to defeat me Sasuke." Neji said.

"We won't find out until we fight but let me tell you something. If you think I'm the same Sasuke you know then you're in for a big surprise Neji. So let's just shut up and fight!" Sasuke grinned.

"The first match of the Chunnin finals! Begin!" Genma said and the crowd roared in anticipation as the finals had finally begun.

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 13: The Dragon and The Tiger

'This is going to be one hell of a fight. Both are experts at close combat except one concentrates on external style and one is more concentrated on doing internal damage.' Kiba thought.

'Hyuuga vs Uchiha. The two strongest clans fighting in one arena.I never thought I would actually live to see such a fight.' The Hokage thought.

'Now Sasuke, show me. Show me everything that will once be mine.' Orochimaru said disguised as the Kazekage.

"Kakashi-sensei, did you teach Sasuke during the break?" Sakura asked.

"A little but for the most part, someone else taught him." Kakashi answered.

"Someone else? Who?" Sakura asked intrigued.

"Sorry but I can't say. You'll find out soon enough." Kakashi replied cryptically.

'What is Kakashi-sensei hiding? Why won't he tell me who taught Sasuke?' Sakura thought.

"Look at you, so confident. Do you really think the gap bewtween you and I has changed? Ha, you and Hinata are truly made for each other, both of you are foolish!" Neji laughed.

"What did you say?" Sasuke growled.

"You heard me. Just like you, Hinata thought that she could get stronger, that she could change and close the gap, and you saw what I did to her, Sasuke." Neji smirked.

"That Neji is so cruel." Ino said and Sakura nodded in agreement

"You should better be off giving up Sasuke or else I might end up doing the same thing to you that I did to Hinata-sama." Neji smirked.

"Sorry but if you know me well, you should know I don't like taking orders from others, especially assholes. Besides, are you so scared that I might have gotten strong enough to crumble down that piece of shit ideology you call the gap that you want me to quit?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.

"You should watch your mouth Sasuke!" Neji growled.

"But you know what, all this talking is starting to bore so let's just skip straight to the fun!" Sasuke said and then rushed toward Neji and started off by throwing a volley of punches at the Hyuuga who blocks them all. Neji then counters with a right palm aimed at Sasuke's face only for his palm to go through an afterimage.

"What?" was all Neji could say before he was kicked in the chin by Sasuke who had ducked underneath the earlier attack. Sasuke then twists and delivers a spin kick to the face, knocking Neji back.

"Dragon Cutter!" Sasuke yells out and reappears above Neji and tries to connect an axe kick to the plexus but Neji rolls out of the way.

"I'm not done!" Sasuke says and then uses one hand to lightly propel him back in mid-air and throws a Ryuu Senpuu that Neji is able to avoid. They then start to exchange punches and kicks at high-speed and Sasuke then throws a kick to the leg and ribs with the same left leg, connecting with both and then connects with a four-punch to the gut and roundhouse kick to the face combination.

"Alright Sasuke! Kick his ass!" Kiba hollered.

"Sasuke-kun..." Hinata said, smiling that her boyfriend was winning.

"No way! He's actually pressuring Neji like it's nothing." Ten Ten said as she, Lee, and Gai arrived at the stands.

"Kakashi, did you help this boy get this good?" Gai asked in awe.

"Like I said Sakura, I didn't, someone else did." Kakashi said.

'You're truly amazing Sasuke...however, Neji is not someone that will be easily dealt with.' Lee thought.

"So Neji, what do you think? Do you still think I'm weak? Ha, Raiton: Zankyaku No Jutsu! (Lightning Element: Cutting Leg Technique)" Sasuke said and then threw an vertical electric slicing wave from his right leg at Neji who is able to dodge it just in time.

"Got you! Katon: Housenka No Jutsu! (Fire Element: Phoenix Flower Technique)" Sasuke yells out and fires a couple of fireballs at Neji, who had just recovered from dodging the last attack.

"He's got him! There's no way he can dodge this on time!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Dodging isn't Neji's only option here." Ten Ten said.

Neji smirked as he saw the attack coming and then spun around and deflect the fireballs.

"What the?" Sasuke asked in surprise.

"Did you really you would win this easily, Sasuke." Neji smirked.

"What was that?" Sakura asked.

"That was..." Hinara started to say before coughing.

"Kaiten!" Hiashi said as he gripped his legs as he and his daughter Hinabi were watching the fight.

"That's Neji so-called ultimate defense. Neji's vision with the Byakugan is near 360 degrees so he can basically all around himself, and with the Byakugan, he can sense all of his opponent's attacks. From there, Neji's defense, the Kaiten, begins. Right before the attack lands, he unleashes a large amount of his chakra from chakra openings throughout his body. This stops the enemy's attack, no matter what it is. He then spins his body and blasts them away." Ten-Ten explains.

"How do you know all that Ten-Ten?" Sakura asks.

"That's because Neji made me train with him during the break...but...but nothing happen between the two of us, Lee-kun, nothing!" Ten Ten said to Lee.

"O...okay Ten Ten-chan." Lee said, blushing a bit.

"NANI? ARE TWO OF MY STUDENTS TRYING TO CROSS THE BOUNDARIES OF THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH WITHOUT MY PERMISSION?!" Gai yelled.

"NO WE ARE NOT AND STOP YELLING LIKE THIS!" Ten-Ten replied.

'As late as Kakashi is, I would rather have him than Gai as my sensei any day of the week.' Sakura thought.

"Oto-san, that's your..." Hanabi began to say.

"Yes, that's my Kaiten, a technique only passed down to the heirs of the main house." Hiashi said, 'To master it on his own. What a guy...to be this good.' Hiashi added mentally.

"But don't be too surprise yet Sasuke. This is just the tip of the iceberg." Neji said and then quickly ran up to him, "Now, you're in the range of my hakke." Neji said.

'Shit!' Sasuke thought.

"Hakkeryuu: Rokujuyonshuu (Eight Triagrams Style: Sixty-Four Palms)" Neji said as he got into his stance.

'This stance...it can't be' Hiashi thought as he could not believe what he saw.

"Two Palms! Four Palms! Eight Palms! Sixteen Palms! Thirty-Two Palms! Sixty-four palms!" Neji yelled and connected all of his attacks, knocking Sasuke back.

'A branch house member...surpassing the main family.' Hiashi thought.

Everyone was shocked as Sasuke just got floored.

'That's it.' Genma thought.

'For the brilliant blood of the Hyuuga Clan to be flowing down a child who cannot become heir and yet has this much natural talent. Hizashi, it seems you should have been destined to be the heir of the clan and not me.' Hiashi thought.

"I struck all 64 chakra points in your body, you can no longer stand. Painful isn't it? Hmm, I warned you but you couldn't just listen, not even this once, Sasuke. One can never overcome the gap no matter how much they want to." Neji said.

Hinata then started to cough violently alarming Kiba.

"Hinata! Are you alright?!" Kiba asked.

'Sasuke-kun...' Hinata thought.

But then everyone was surprised when they heard Sasuke starting to laugh.

"What's so funny, Uchiha?" Neji asked with a frown on his face.

"Man, that was so close. If it wasn't for this, it would be it for me." Sasuke laughed .

"What are you babbling about?" Neji asked.

"I know Sasuke is cocky but this is ridiculous. There's no way he could have dodged that, Neji had perfect timing and accuracy." Kakashi said.

"What I mean is thanks to this, yout attack had no effect!" Sasuke said and then takes off a blue shirt underneath his black one, and when he dropped it, it made a small crater.

"What is this?" Neji asked surprised.

"This is a piece of clothing that senpai had me wore before the fight in order to protect my tenketsu from your attacks and it looks like it worked which is surprising considering how much of a dumbass he is." Sasuke said.

"Amazing! Whoever this senpai is must be amazing!" Sakura and Ino both said.

"Why thank you ladies!" Kyo said as he was right next to them.

"Who are you?" Ino asked.

"Ah yes, where are my manners. My name is Kyo, just Kyo my precious and I am the man that has trained this boy and turned him into man of excellence!" Kyo said as he dramatically posed.

'Weirdo...' Ino thought.

"Wait, I remember you. You were there when I came back to get Sasuke during the forest of death exam." Sakura said as she remembered.

"Oh yes, I do recall seeing you there." Kyo said.

"So Kyo, you're the one that gave him that weighted clothing to protect himself from Jyuuken, right?" Kakashi asked.

"Of course. I would never let my student fight unprepared." Kyo grinned.

"In order to train such a fine student, you must be a very strong taijutsu master. I, Maito Gai, the beautiful Blue Beast of Konoha, challenges you to a match!" Gai said and with the ping effect on his teeth.

"Did you say something?" Kyo asked the man, causing everyone to sweatdrop.

"WHY MUST EVERYONE DO THIS TO ME?!" Gai says as he went into a hysteria mode.

"Urusai, Gai-sensei! You're too loud!" Ten-Ten said, reprimanding him.

"Well, it seems you were smart for once but getting rid of it is a huge mistake Sasuke." Neji said.

"No it's not because now, I'm getting serious." Sasuke said and then turned off his Sharingan.

"Wait, why did he turn off his Sharingan? Is that not going to put him at a disadvantage?" Lee asked.

"Just watch, gaki. This is just the beginning." Kyo smirked.

"Come on you little bitch. Let's go." Sasuke said, beckoning Neji to attack him with one of his fingers.

"I don't know what you're planning with dropping that cloth and turning off your Sharingan but I will put you down this time, Sasuke!" Neji said as he rushed toward Sasuke and then tried to hit with a right palm attack but Sasuke catches it to Neji's surprise.

"Ryuuichiken (Dragon Inch Fist)!" Sasuke yells out and then smacks Neji in the face with the back of his right fist, knocking the Hyuuga back. Sasuke then rushes toward Neji as he got up and Neji saw this coming and was about to counter when Sasuke once again caught his palm attack and struck him with four lightning kicks with his left leg and then a roundhouse kick to the face with his other leg.

'What's going on? It's like he knows whatever I'm going to do!' Neji thought.

Sasuke then threw a right snap kick but Neji dodged and then tried to counter with a left palm attack but again Sasuke caught the attack.

"Again!" Neji growled.

"Ryuutsume! (Dragon Talon)!" Sasuke yelled and connected with a bone crunching kick to the solar plexus, causing Neji to spit out some blood and knocking him into the wall of the arena, making people wince at the brutality of the attack.

"I don't understand. How is Neji losing this badly? One minute he was winning and then the next, it's like Sasuke just knows what he is going to do." Gai asked as he never seen this before.

"That's thanks to the style I taught Sasuke. It's called Jinryuuken (Flowing Dragon Fist)" Kyo answered.

"Jinryuuken?" Gai asked as he and everyone were know intrigued.

"The Jinryuuken is a fighting style that is extremely exclusive to the Uchiha clan. It is a style in which the person must first memorize or in this case copy their opponent's fighting style to a tee and then once they transfer the information into their mind and thus their body, they close off the Sharingan and then fight according to the information given by their Sharingan. Also, this style likes to use the hands to deflect or catch the opponent's attack and then counter with kicks though they will also use punches." Kyo explained.

"Wait, how is that even possible, even for the Sharingan?" Kakashi asked.

"Kakashi, even you should know how. Think about it, when the Sharingan copies a jutsu, it captures how the jutsu is performed and then sends the info to the body in order to replicate it right on the spot. The same goes for Taijustu, just that it takes longer so that the Sharingan can capture all the information needed about the person's style and then send it to the body." Kyo explains.

"But to be able to memorize an opponent's fighting style is nearly impossible even with that kekkai genkai. They still have to get their body used to it." Gai said.

"Yes you're right under normal circumstances but not when one has trained with their Sharingan and kept it on at all time during a month and trained soley on Taijutsu." Kyo said.

"I see now. By keeping his Sharingan on for a whole month, you've basically made it so that Sasuke's Sharingan can capture any type of taijutsu instantly and have his body used to it right on the spot. Basically, he can copy any taijutsu and transfer it to his brain so his body can get used to it ten times faster than my own Sharingan despite us both having the same type of Sharingan because his body has been used to doing so for such a long time." Kakashi said as he figured it out. 'And it's only by having the body truly equipped for this kekkai genkai that one can do such a feat. I can't even come to doing the same since the Sharingan tires me so easily.' Kakashi added mentally.

"Are you ready to admit that this gap ideology of yours is a bunch of crap, Neji?" Sasuke smirked.

"So you think because you got a couple of hits on me, you can talk down to me? If you think you're the only who's improve then you're wrong. I too have improved!" Neji said, and started to breath and then gets into a stance where his left leg is stretched and his fists are closed.

'What the? His fists are closed?" Sasuke thought.

'What kind of stance is this? I've never seen this before?' Hiashi thought.

"I must applaud you Sasuke, I didn't expect to show this to anyone until the final match but it seems I have no choice. Be grateful because you're the first that will experience this style's great power and with this style, I will show you where you rightfully belong!" Neji said and then rushed toward Sasuke again.

"In case you've forgot Neji, I can read your moves perfectly! There's no way you'll hit me!" Sasuke smirked and got ready for the attack. Neji then smirked and then threw a right punch which Sasuke caught but then Neji twists his body to show his back to Sasuke and then yells and knocks him back with a back attack.

'That attack! It wasn' normal.' Sasuke said as he was knocked back and landed on the ground.

"What was that attack?" Gai asked.

"What was that Sasuke? I believed you told me I wouldn't be able to hit you. Well, I guess you were wrong about that. By the way, what you just experienced was my original style called Hakke Goushouken (Eight Triagrams Strong Palm Fist). It is a fighting style that I created all by myself using the teachings of Jyuuken and also the ancient style of Hakkyokuken. Basically, it is a two-part style. The first part is to basically form a mini-kaiten armor around my body I call Hakke Yoroi (Eight Triagrams Armor) at all time in order to detect or parry any attack from any sides without even knowing where the opponent is. Then, the style not only use Jyuuken strikes but also use closed fist attacks in the same as Jyuuken, basically transferring chakra from his closed fists as well thus increasing the damage of his attacks and combining external and internal forms in one." Neji explained.

"Keh, is that all you got Neji?" Sasuke smirked.

"Ha, Hakke Kushou! (Eight Triagrams Empty Palm)!" Neji said and unleashed a wave of chakra from his palm and struck Sasuke with it. Neji then smirked and ran toward the Uchiha and before he can recover, Neji knees him in the chin and followed by elbowing him in the chest with his left elbow and then smacked him back with a two-palm attack to the chest.

"Sasuke!" Sakura yelled.

"Hyuuga Neji...that kid is definitely a genius of the Hyuuga Clan. His taijutsu skills are amazing." Kakashi said.

"Sasuke-kun! Cough!" Hinata yelled but then started to cough violently, bleeding.

"Hinata! You're bleeding! It looks like the damage from your fight hasn't healed yet. Hey Hinata!" Kiba said as the girl continued to cough.

"What's wrong?" One of the examiners asked.

"I'll take a look." Said one of the anbu as he appeared next to them.

"Who are you?" Kiba asked.

"Well...I'm no one suspicious." The anbu replied.

"Now, to make sure you don't memorize this style since I figured you memorized my original style with your Sharingan before. Hakke Rokujuyonshuu!" Neji said and then once again struck all 64 of Sasuke's points, this time closing them for good.

"Hmm, like I said before, there will always be a gap between you and I Sasuke and no matter how you improve, you will always be weaker than me." Neji said.

"Gap..gap...gap. Why the hell do you continue to keep talking like this? Why do you always think that no one can overcome what they set their mind on! I can't forgive assholes like you who keep people down and insult them!" Sasuke asked he slowly came back up.

"You want to know why I say that there is a gap...Fine I'll tell you by explaning the Hyuuga's destiny of hatred." Neji said.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing with her?" Kiba asked as the Anbu had Hinata on the floor and had his hand glowing green.

"Don't worry...I'm a doctor." The anbu replied.

"You see, the main house of the Hyuuga clan has for many generations praticed a special ninjutsu called the fuuin jutsu (curse seal technique)." Neji began to explain.

"Fuuin jutsu?" Sasuke repeated.

"The cursed seal is the symbol of a bird locked in its cage. It's the mark of those who are bound to a gap that they can never overcome." Neji said with his eyes closed and then took out his headband to show the green mark on his forehead.

"So that's the cursed seal?" Sasuke asked.

"I was four years old when this mark was branded on my forehead. You see, on that same day, the village was celebrating a time of peace as a grand ceremony was taking place. A shinobi leader from the Cloud Village, which has been warring with the Leaf for many, had arrived to sign an alliance treaty. But at this ceremony, where everyone of every rank attended, one clan was missing; The Hyuuga Clan. Because on that same day, it was also the day when the Hyuga heir turns three and that day was Hinata-sama's birthday." Neji said and then looked at Hiashi with a look of resentment.

"My father, Hyuuga Hizashi, and Hinata-sama's father over there, Hyuuga Hiashi, were born twins. But because Hinata's father was born first while mine was born second, her father was made a member of the main house and my father was made member of the branch house. On that day, when Hinata turned three, I was turned into a bird locked in its cage through this curse as a Hyuuga branch member." Neji explained.

"That's stupid, why would a clan need to brand its own members?" Sasuke asked as his clan never did such a thing when they were alive.

"Trust me when I say this, it wasn't for decoration." Neji said and then started to reminisce.

_Flashback:_

"Listen Neji. Hinata-sama of the main family, you will live to protect her and the Hyuuga Clan, do you understand?" Hizashi asked his son while they were oberserving Hinata train with her father.

"Yes otosan!" Neji replied.

"Your footwork is too poor!" Hizashi told his daughter.

Hizashi looked at his son and then looked at Hinata and the marks of his Byakugan began to appear.

'Killing intent!' Hiashi thought and then did a seal and Hizashi started to yell in pain as he clutched his head.

"Otosan! What's wrong!" Neji

"Go home now. I will not forgive this foolishness a second time. Never forget your place again!" Hizashi said.

_End Flashback_

"The curse mark signifies absolute threat of death imposed upon by the main house upon the branch house and the absolute unsurmountable gap of power between both houses. This secret techniques of the main house can easily destroy the minds of the branch house so of course, killing us is a simple task and this curse mark fades after death after the secret of the Byakugan has been sealed away. The reason for this is that the Hyuuga Clan contains one of the most powerful kekkai genkais in all the lands and thus many have sought after it. Thus the branch house was created for a single purpose really, and that is to serve and shield the main house and never disobey them and to eternally protect the Byakuugan, the kekkai genkai of the Hyuuga clan. It's a brilliant efficient set up." Neji said.

"But then the incident occurred...the incident where my father was murdererd by the main house." Neji said, surprising Sasuke.

"What?" Sasuke exclaimed

"One night, someone tried to kidnap Hinata-sama. The intruder was intercepted by Hiashi who killed him swiftly. And whom do you suppose that masked man was? That man...that man was none other than the shinobi ruler of the Cloud that just come to sign the treaty with us. It became clear that they have been after the secret of the Byakugan from the very beginning. However, even though it was their own ninja who got caught himself and killed in their failed plot, the lands of clouds claimed that we had breached the contract and began making unreasonable demands. But eager to avoid war, an agreement was reached. Konoha made a backroom bargain with Cloud." Neji said.

"What bargain?" Sasuke asked.

"The Cloud demanded that they receive the body of Hiashi-sama, the head of the main house and carrier of the Byakugan and Konoha accepted that condition." Neji said.

'Huh? But father?' Hanabi thought as she looked at her dad.

"War was safely averted thanks to my father who was sacrificed to protect the main house. He was murdered to serve as Hyuuga Hiashi's body double! The only way to escape this curse mark is to die. So you see, it doesn't matter if two people were born in the same clan, a gap still exists between them and the same applies for everything even this match. There is a gap between you and I that no matter how hard you try, you will never overcome!" Neji said and then put on his forehead protector back on.

"Goushokenryuu: Hakke Jinsoku Satsu (Strong Palm Fist Style: Eight Triagrams Swift Death)! Neji yelled and then ran toward Sasuke and struck him multiple times with his left palm, knocking back a couple of feet and into the ground.

"Call the match proctor, he's not getting up from this one." Neji said and turned his back on Sasuke.

"Don't you dare turn your back on me you bastard!" Sasuke yelled as he slowly got back clutching his stomach, making Neji stop.

"So what, your dad died and now you come up with this ideology of the gap? Sounds more to me like an excuse that a whiny, egoistical emo-bitch would you use instead." Sasuke smirked.

"What did you say?" Neji growled.

"You think you're the only who's suffered in life but you're wrong! My clan was killed, entirely annihilated by my own brother, the only person I ever admired, and for what you ask? Because he wanted his fucking capacity, that's why! Even Hinata has suffered because no matter how much she tried, her asshole of her father is never proud of her and yet you beat up on her because you're pissed that you dad sacrificed his life for her father. Like I said, you ideology flawed and in the end, all it is a pathetic excuse to take out your anger on everyone else!" Sasuke said.

"Don't talk me as if you know! You know nothing about me and you will never understand me!" Neji barked back.

"And to be honest, I don't want to." Sasuke replied.

"What! No way!" Kiba said as he saw the anbu heal Hinata.

'Her face look so peaceful again. those anbu guys sure are good.' Kiba thought.

"She'll be fine but she won't be watcing any more matches." The anbu said and then knocked Kiba out cold with his glowing hand.

"It's useless to continue Sasuke, I've already sealed all 64 tenketsus so that means no more chakra for you." Neji smirked.

"He's right about that. There's no way Sasuke will win." Gai said.

"You're wrong about that. He's got one more trick up his sleeve." Kyo grinned.

"What are you talking? His tenketsus have been blocked." Gai replied.

"Just trust me on this. He's not done yet." Kyo smirked.

"I made a promise to Hinata-chan and I will honor that promise. Besides, you're wrong about what you said earlier." Sasuke said.

"And what is that?" Neji asked.

"There's one more type of energy I can use other than chakra." Sasuke said.

"You're bluffing. The only energy that exists is chakra." Neji scoffed.

"Oh but you're wrong. That energy is called haki (wave energy) and that energy is found in nature itself. Actually, chakra is a form of haki, except that it is found inside of people and animals, that's the only difference." Sasuke explained.

"Haki? You actually taught him how to harness that energy?" Gai asked, shocked.

"Yep." Kyo replied.

"What is this Haki, Gai-sensei?" Lee asked.

"Haki is the opposite of chakra. While chakra is internal energy, haki is external energy, basically the energy that surrounds us. But to be able to actually use it in combat requires many years of training and meditation since that energy is so hard to harness and control. To think that this Uchiha might be able to do it in just one month is just nothing short of incredible." Gai explained.

"Like that will matter. There's no way you'll penetrate my Goushoken's Hakke Yoroi (Eight Triagrams Armor)." Neji said.

"Willing to bet your pride on that?!" Sasuke said and then started to breathe.

'What the? It's like a massive wave of energy is being absorbed around his right arm!' Neji thought as he looked through with his Byakugan.

"So you see it too, huh? Now, have a taste of it!" Sasuke said and then ran toward Neji, 'This is all I can do. If this doesn't work, then I'm done for!' Sasuke thought.

"This will be the final blow." Kyo said.

'I have to use Kaiten! This is too much for my Yoroi!' Neji thought as he started to spin for his kaiten

"Ryuufushi(Dragon Knuckle)"Sasuke yelled and then threw a right punch at Neji who used his kaiten to block it but then the contact between both attacks caused an explosion. Then, two shadows are seen hitting the ground hard. When the smoke clears, all we see are two holes.

"Wait a minute? Who won?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know..." Ino replied.

Then, both fighters came out at the same time, each out of their own holes. They stood up for a while breathing heavily but then Neji succumbed to the injuries and fatigue and fell to the ground

'I...I lost?' Neji said as he could not understand what just happened.

"Let me tell you something Neji. There is no such things as gaps between people and the reason for this is that true strength comes from overcoming obstacles and having goals and people to protect. As long as the person has that, they will be able to overcome anything that stands in their way. Hinata-chan made me promise that I will save you and what I think she meant to say is to knock some sense into you and hopefully I did. I proved to you that one can overcome obstacle by believing in themselves and can also improve and become much stronger. Now, you're the one who needs to learn and by the way, if you ever, ever hurt Hinata again, I'll make sure you shinobi career ends and I'll make sure you never procreate ever, understood. So, stop acting like a caged bird all the damn time and fly, you stupid bastard." Sasuke said.

'Well, I wouldn't have said it like that but oh well.' Genma thought with a smirk, "Winner is Uchiha Sasuke." He said and then crowd started to roar.

"Alright Sasuke!" Sakura and Ino yelled.

'Nice job Sasuke. You're growing more and more into the dragon that you are destined to become.' Kyo thought.

'Ha Sasuke, you are truly amazing. I can't wait to sink my teeth in!' Orochimaru thought.

'Sasuke...You were able to do it after all. You were able to defeat Neji...the only person I ever wanted to defeat...' Lee thought.

"So that's the guy that defeated you huh, Shinji-aniki?" The one with the jagged teeth asked.

"Yep and he looks like he's gotten even stronger now." Shinji said.

"I bet I could beat him no problem." The one with the jagged teeth smirked.

"Like you could beat him with your skill level, Suigetsu." The silver haired swordsman said.

"What did you say? I dare you to repeat that Izoa!" Suigetsu yelled.

"You could not beat him with your skill level, Suigetsu." Izoa repeated with a smirk.

"Why you!" Suigetsu growled.

"Izoa, Suigetsu, do you guys have to argue everywhere you go?" Shinji sighed.

"Hey, tell Izoa to stop acting like a smartass all the damn time!" Suigetsu barked.

"I'm sorry, it's just that it's so easy against you, I just can't help myself." Izoa said.

"I wonder where Naruto-kun is?" Haku asked, breaking off the arguing.

"Don't worry Haku-chan, he'll be here. Trust me." Shinji grinned.

"If you let me, I'll go and bring him here, Haku-neesan." Suigetsu said as he beat his chest.

"Oh yeah, with that great sense of direction, you'll sure find him just like you got lost in your own house just the other day." Izoa smirked.

"That's it! Let's take this outside!" Suigetsu growled.

"Baka, we're already outside and besides, I don't feel like fighting with someone I've already beaten twenty times in a row." Izoa said.

"TEME!" Suigetsu roared.

"Guys, stop acting like fools! You're swordsmans, not children." Shinji said with a stern look on his face.

"Gomen naisai, aniki." Both swordsman said though Suigetsu was still glaring at Izoa.

"Looks like you got a rowdy bunch there, Mizukage-dono. Maybe it was too early for you to become Mizukage after all." The Kazekage said.

"I know they are rowdy but it was definitely not too early for me to become Mizukage. Besides, it's always been my dream." Haku said.

"Like that kid said, you need to stop acting like a caged birth and instead fly. But, it seems you won't be able to do so since you got beat." Genma told Neji as he was taken in by the medics on a stretcher.

Later, Neji is in a room as reflected on what just happened when a knock was heard on the door.

"Come in." the medics said, and it was none other than Hiashi.

"Hyuuga-sama!" They said.

"Gomen, but I would like to speak with Neji privately." Hiashi said and the medics nodded and left.

"What is it sir?" Neji asked.

"I came here to tell you the real truth of that day." Hiashi said with a solemn look on his face.

"The real truth?" Neji asked.

"On that day, I fully intended to die." Hiashi said.

"What? What are you saying?! My father was murdered in order to act as your body double!" Neji yelled.

" I understand how you came to that conclusion but that is not how it happened." hiashi said.

"But why tell me this now?" Neji asked.

"But I know you might believe me now." Hiashi said. He then went on to explain how he was against the decision and was willing to die but in the end, Hizashi took the decision on his own to die, not for the clan but for his brother, and everyone in the village.

"You can't really expect me to believe that story! What a convenient explanation! it sounds exactly like something the main house would cook up to placate me especially after all this time!" Neji argued.

"I knew you would think so...that is why I waited this long and that is why I am telling you this now. I wanted to relay my brother's final words to you not as head of the of main house but as Hizashi's older brother." Hiashi said and then got on the floor and put his head down, startling Neji. "Please believe shi said.

"P...please raise your head sir." Neji said.

'Hmm, it seems that people can truly overcome anything by having dreams and people to protect, huh father? I have met these people and I feel that I have changed. I still don't know how dreams or anything they've said work father, but I will try to make a dream for myself and follow it to the end.' Neji thought as he looked outside.

"So many birds flying freely in the sky father." Neji said to himself.

Meanwhile, the crowd was getting rowdy as they were waiting for the next fight.

"It seems the crowd is getting astir." The Kazekage said.

"I would expect to having seeing such great fight." The Hokage said.

"And because of that, they want the next fight to come now." The Kazekage said.

"By the way, where is this Namikaze Naruto your village speaks highly of?" Kazekage asked.

"We still haven't had any news about Naruto. Plus, with Orochimaru's involvment with all of this, it might be safe to announce a forfeit before this gets out of hand." Raidou whispered to the Hokage.

"I understand however, I will give Naruto a chance and postpone his match." The Hokage replied.

"Hokage-sama! You can't be serious! Any shinobi that lacks punctuality cannot become a chunnin! Unless we can provide a clear-cut explanation to his tardy then we have to make him forfeit." Raidou argued.

"Listen Raidou. All of these people, especially the lords, all came to watch one match and that match is this one, the one that features his legacy and Konoha's top genius versus the Sand Village's own top genius shinobi. To make him forfeit would create an outrage and thus postponing it will keep them from doing so. Sometimes, rules are meant to be bended in order to satisfy the public." The Hokage said.

"I couldn't agree more with your reasoning, Hokage-sama though I am bit surprised at the way you disregarded the rules considered how punctual of a Kage you are." The Kazekage said.

"When you've reached my age Kazekage-dono, sometimes you just want to feel young and reckless again." The Hokage grinned.

"Therefore, let the proctor know about this new development." The Hokage said and Raidou went down to tell Genma of this.

"Alright, there's been a change in the match arrangements. The match between Namikaze Naruto and Sabaku No Gaara has been pushed back and thus because of this, the next match between Aburame Shino and Kankurou is now up." Genma said.

"Phew, that's a relief. Now Naruto has more time to get here." Sasuke said as he was in the waiting room.

'But Naruto-kun, where are you?' Sakura thought worriedly.

"What? My match was moved! Oh man, this is so troublesome." Shikamaru complained.

'Damn, this isn't good at all. I can't unveil Karasu's hidden mechanisms in such a trivial fight. I guess I have no choice...' Kankurou thought. "Proctor, I withdraw." Kankurou said and this got more boos from the audience and caused Shino to be angry.

"Well, that's not my problem. Alright then, the next fight will be between Nara Shikamaru and Temari." Genma said.

Temari smirked and then got on her fan and landed on the battle arena.

"Well, you're in a hurry to fight. Alright, final candidate, get down here." Genma said.

'Maybe I should withdraw too...' Shikamaru thought.

"Get your ass down there and fight, damn it!" Sasuke said and kicked Shikamaru off the railing and into the arena floor.

'That's gotta hurt.' Temari thought.

'Damn that Sasuke bastard.' Shikamaru thought.

To Be Continued...

Hey this is Shikamaru and I'm doing this troublesome preview this time. Man, why do I have to fight while I could be watching the clouds? And what's worse is that I'm fighting that sand chick with the big fan. Man, so mendoukse but still, I can't lose to a girl so while everyone is waiting for the Naruto and Gaara fight, I guess I'm going to have myself some fun. Next time on Namikaze Hokage!

Next Chapter: The Howling Wind

AN: Man, I'm so evil to end it like this but I want to make you guys a bit longer. As always read and review and I hope you guys appreciated the fight.


	14. The Howling Wind

Author's Note: Naruto nor the characters of the story belong to me unfortunately and belong rather to Kishimoto Masashi. All I am doing is writing another version of his story according to my creative vision.

"What? My match was moved! Oh man, this is so troublesome." Shikamaru complained.

'Damn, this isn't good at all. I can't unveil Karasu's hidden mechanisms in such a trivial fight. I guess I have no choice...' Kankurou thought. "Proctor, I withdraw." Kankurou said and this got more boos from the audience and caused Shino to be angry.

"Well, that's not my problem. Alright then, the next fight will be between Nara Shikamaru and Temari." Genma said.

Temari smirked and then got on her fan and landed on the battle arena.

"Well, you're in a hurry to fight. Alright, final candidate, get down here." Genma said.

'Maybe I should withdraw too...' Shikamaru thought.

"Get your ass down there and fight, damn it!" Sasuke said and kicked Shikamaru off the railing and into the arena floor.

'That's gotta hurt.' Temari thought.

'Damn that Sasuke bastard.' Shikamaru thought.

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 14: The Howling Wind

The crowd was booing and throwing garbage at the boy.

'It looks like they were looking forward Naruto's match and now they have to watch some no-name's match. So now they're like, "Who the hell! Get out of here!" There's just no point in fighting a match when no one one expects anything from it.' Shikamaru thought.

"What's this?" Temari asked as she smacked her fan on the ground, "You're going to give up as well?" Temari smirked.

'Oh for kami's sake. Another girl?' Shikamaru thought as he looked at Temari.

'Then again, he never had any interest in doing anything from the moment I met him.' Asuma thought.

"That damn Shikamaru better do something or else I'm going to beat the crap out of him!" Ino growled as her hair started to move.

"I don't think that's the right way to motivate someone." Sakura said with a sweatdrop.

"Look Shikamaru, I don't care if you kick her ass or she kicks your ass, just fight already! I'm bored!" Sasuke roared.

"If you're not going to attack then I will!" Temari said and then grabbed her fan and ran toward Shikamaru.

"Man, she seems really excited about this." Shikamaru said as he went to his pockets to take his kunais.

Temari jumps up and slams her fan down while Shikamaru tried to counter with his kunais, and a loud noise is made as her fan hits. She grins for a while until the smoke clears and Shikamaru was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm usually the last guy who likes to fight and to be honest I don't really care about becoming chunnin but despite that, there's no way I'm going to lose to a girl. So, while I'm still motivated, let's have some fun." Shikamaru smirked as he had used his kunais to stand up on the wall.

This angered Temari and she swung her fan to unleash powerful winds at Shikamaru but when the smoke cleared, Shikamaru was nowhere to be seen. She then turned her head and saw the tree by the shadows.

'This guy's quick at running away.' Temari thought with a smirk.

'But I can't really hit a girl too.' Shikamaru thought as he hid behind the tree.

'That guy uses shadows as his weapon like he did against that sound girl.' Temari thought as she recalled Shikamaru's last fight. 'He's probably trying me into the trees where the shadows are abundant. Hmm, like I would fall for such a lame trick.' Temari added mentally.

'Damn it, why am always the one who has to fight a girl. Makes me look sexist.' Shikamaru thought.

"That's the way Shikamaru! Now beat the crap out of her with your 16-hit combo!" Ino said as she cheered for her teammate.

'Since when did Shikamaru have a 16-hit combo?' Sakura thought.

"Can I sit next to you?" Chouji asked as he had arrived, munching on some chips.

"What? Your stomach is okay already?" Ino asked and Chouji nodded. He then sat down next to her and took another chip.

"Huh? Why is Shikamaru fighting now? I thought Naruto was supposed to be next?" Chouji asked.

"Don't say that!" Ino said as she tried to keep her friend quiet but it was too late as Sakura heard and went into a depressed mode, "Don't worry Sakura, I am sure Naruto will come soon." Ino laughed nervously but that did nothing as Sakura was still depressed, 'Okay, that didn't do anything. Man, she's really taking it hard.' Ino thought.

"But I would never think Shikamaru would be fighting in the finals. He is lazy after all." Chouji said as he ate another chip.

"Don't say that. Shikamaru is very good at devising strategies and it was thanks to him that we survived all the way to the preliminaries. Besides, before you came Shikamaru actually jumped down into the arena. I've never seen him this motivated before. BEAT HER UP, SHIKAMARU!" Ino yelled.

"Man this is so boring, I'm going to sleep." Sasuke said and went to sleep.

'Man, the clouds are so nice, all peaceful and free. To be honest, I have no motivation to begin with, all I wanted was to be an average ninja and then marry an average wife, have children who become successful and retire.' Shikamaru thought as he looked at the clouds. 'But I guess things don't always go your way. Mendoukse.' Shikamaru thought as he stood up and grinned.

'What's up with that stupid grin? Is he mocking me?' Temari thought, "Ninpou Kamaitachi (Ninja Art: Sickling Winds)!" Temari yelled and then swung her fan and unleashed a flurry of sharp winds toward Shikamaru and even the crowd felt it.

'Now I see how she deflected my weapons. Next time, it won't be the same!' Ten-Ten thought.

Temari smirked but then saw Shikamaru's shadow technique head for her and she did a couple of flips to get farther away from it. When the shadow reached its limit and retreated, she then traced a line on the ground with her fan.

'Kagemane No Justu (Shadow Imitation Technique). I've figured out its nature. Looks like there's a limit to how you can stretch, shrink, and transform your shadow. No matter how you much you want to stretch or transform it, you can only stretch it as much as its surface area. Isn't that right?" Temari asked as she finished her explanation.

"Correct." Shikamaru replied with a smirk.

'Even if I assume that he used the stage wall's shadow to increase his shadow's range, this is as far as his shadow stretches; 15 meters and 32 centimeters.' Temari thought as he put her fan on the line.

'She used her fan to measure the shadow's range and on top of that Temari is better with long-range combat than close combat. She's practically got this in the bag.' Kankurou thought.

Shikamaru leaned against the wall and then looked at the girl before then closing his eyes and put his hands together in the form of a seal.

"What kind of seal is this?" Kurenai asked as she was sitting next to Asuma.

"That's no seal." Asuma said as he recognized it.

"Then what is it?" Kurenai asked.

"That's a habit of is, he does it every time he needs to think of a plan. You see, Shikamaru thinks like an old man and likes to play shougi and board games against me. Every time I had him cornered, he assumed that position to come up with a counter-attack and I've never beaten him." Asuma said.

"But this isn't a shougi game, this is real-life combat." Kurenai countered.

"But I've heard that the pieces used for devising war games eventuall ended up in games like that. So in layman's terms, Shikamaru is like a clever strategist." Asuma said.

"But when I looked at his grades during the Academy, he was dead last." Kurenai said.

"Hmm. That's because he said it was too troublesome to move his pencil in the academy written test and as a result, he always slept during the test. But because he was so good at strategy games, it didn't make sense to me so I decided to give him a test in terms of a game to test his intelligence." Asuma said.

"And how did he do?" Kurenai asked.

"He's clever all right, he possess an I.Q of over 200." Asuma said.

"200?" Kurenai repeated, stunned.

Shikamaru then opened his eyes, ending his pose.

"He's now going to begin!" Asuma said.

"Hmm, it looks like you are a bit motivated." Temari smirked and then fired off another attack and Shikamaru took out a kunai and ran off, "Oh no you don't!" Temari said and made her attack follow Shikamaru, who then had to take off his vest.

"Are you sure he has a plan?" Kurenai asked and Asuma didn't know how to answer.

"Come out already!" Temari yelled and fired her attack once more.

Suddenly, two kunais came at her one over the other but she was able to dodge them as one below struck the ground close to her while the other one above flew further away. Then another from a different direction flew at her and she also blocked it but then Shikamaru's shadow technique headed straight for her.

'It's useless, it won't reach me. Wait!' Temari said as she then realized that the shadow was going to reach her and thus she backed away a bit more to be out of its range.

"So you figured out, huh?" Shikamaru asked.

"So you were killing time to wait for the sun to set in order to extend the range of your shadow. When the sun sets down, shadows grow, correct?" Temari said.

"Damn, he was so close!" Ino complained.

"Bur how can he use his shadow?" Chouji asked.

"As long as there is light, there will always be a shadow inside a shadow. You really don't know a thing about Shikamaru." Ino said, reprimanding the boy.

'Calculating the sun's height and his current attack range, he cannot go further than this.' Temari thought.

"Temari! Look above you!" Kankurou yelled out.

"Huh?" Temari said as she looked above.

'Brilliant.' Shino thought.

"What the?" Temari said as she looked up while at the same time a shadow was starting to form right next to her. 'Shit!' Temari cursed mentally as she finally noticed the forming and shadow and then started to back away.

"I won't let you get away!" Shikamaru yelled.

"I'd never guessed he would use his vest as a parachute to give himself more shadows to work with. This guy is really something with his shadow attacks. He forced me to keep my attention on the ground so I wouldn't be able to focus on his parachute and now...if I focus on the parachute, I'll be distracted from his ground attacks. What a nasty tactic..but now it's crystal clear what the Kagemane No Jutsu is truly about. The technique is like a flexible glue-trap where you can change the shape of your shadow as long you maintain its natural surface area. Plus you can use any other shadows in the path of your shadow in the path of your shadow to extend its length.' Temari thought. She finally was able to outrun the shadow attack as it stopped and she looked at Shikamaru with a sneer on her face.

"You managed to dodge me again, huh." Shikamaru said.

"It doesn't look like his plans are working that well." Kurenai said.

"The problem is that his opponent is also a good strategist." Asuma said.

'If i don;t get this over with his advantage will keep growing.' Temari thought and she then put her fan to the ground, 'I'll use the bushin technique to create a clone and make him jump at it. Then while he's doing that, I'll build up my chakra to the maximum level and then hit him with a full force Kamaitachi.' Temari thought. She then saw his shadow retreating and then started to go for the bushin technique when her eyes suddenly widened, 'My body. It can't move!' Temari thought.

"Kagemane Mokushi No Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Spot Technique) success." Shikamaru said.

"Kagemane Mokushi No Jutsu?" Everyone asked.

"The Kagemane Mokushi No Jutsu is a jutsu that is used in conjunction with the Kageten (shadow spot), a creature created out of the shadows. My family over the years became so good with shadows that it enabled them to even create weapons or creatures out of them and the Kageten is one. You see, it is a sort of symbiote that can capture others by gluing itself into their shadows." Shikamaru explained.

"But that doesn't explain how you were able to capture me?" Temari asked.

"You remember that time when I threw three kunais at you? Well, there were two that I threw first and one landed next to you while the other landed further ahead and guess where you are?" Shikamaru smirked, and turned his head and so did she andwhen she did, she saw a huge spot over her shadow, "That's the spot where the kunai landed and that kunai was actually the Kageten in the form of a kunai that I threw over the other kunai so I can miss you so that you would think I overthrew you when in reality, it was because I was actually throwing it at a spot to trap your shadow with, hence the parachute diversion." Shikamaru said.

"Wait, you mean to tell me that the parachute was a diversion?" Temari asked in disbelief.

"Yep. The parachute was a way to keep on moving you until you were close enough for the kageten to do its trick. Just like in chess, you win or lose with the first move." Shikamaru said.

"However, I'm going to have to forfeit this one." Shikamaru said.

"NANI?" Everyone yelled.

"What did you say?" Temari asked.

"Listen, all of these moves I did used all of my chakra so I can only hold you for ten seconds, and after going through 200 moves, this is the only viable option. Besides, one match is enough for me, having to do another would be way too troublesome." Shikamaru said.

'What a weird kid.' Genman thought, "The winner is Temari." Genma announced.

"So Shino, what happened?" Sasuke asked as he woke up.

"Nothing, except that Shikamaru forfeited due to lack of chakra despite having the startegic advantage." Shino replied.

"I see, typical Shikamaru." Sasuke smirked.

"I can't believe he actually gave up!" Ino yelled.

"I told you he would give up, guess you don't him well enough." Chouji said as he was munching on his chips.

"Even despite giving up, he definitely has the make-up of a chunnin. His intellect and strategy-making are beyond that of a genin and if this was a real mission, he would have succeeded." Kurenai said.

"And on top of that, his lack of motivation actually allows him to be extremely calm and composed in missions, thus making him even more successful." Asuma added.

"That Shikamaru kid is unlike the others. He definitely could have won if he didn't give up sooner though but unlike Sasuke or Neji, he thinks like a chunnin would, not a genin." Izumo said.

"Definitely." Kotetsu said.

"Geez Shikamaru, did you really have to give up?" Sasuke asked.

"Like I said, one match is enough and besides that, it would be too troublesome to fight either you or Naruto." Shikamaru replied with a sigh.

'It looks like Naruto still hasn't appeared.' The Hokage thought.

"So, do you think he's coming anymore?" Kankurou asked as Temari returned to the waiting room.

"Yeah, he'll be here. In fact, he's already here." Gaara said with a smirk and then shunshined all the way to the arena. At the same, a tornado arrived on the arena and revealed itself to be Naruto, who had on the same clothing as before except

"Show-off." Sasuke smirked.

"No way, it's really him." Ino said.

'Naruto-kun...you made it.' Sakura thought.

"You're lucky you made on time, I was about to disqualify you." Genma said.

"Gomen nasai, but I had things to take care of first." Naruto apologized with a foxy grin.

"Do you feel it Shinji?" Haku asked.

"Feel what Haku-chan?" Shinji asked.

"Naruto-kun's chakra...he's gotten even stronger than before." Haku said.

"Who is this Naruto anyway? What's so good about him?" Suigetsu asked.

"He's the one that defeated me." Haku said, surprising the swordsman.

"If that is the case then we should definitely pay attention to this match so we can see his skills." Izoa said.

'Namikaze Naruto...hopefully you will be able to me why you were chosen as the leader of the new Ninja world.' Kyo thought as he looked at the young boy.

"Hey Kyo, what's up?" Shina asked as she entered the stadium.

"Yo, Shina-chan?" Kyo said and was about to hug when she punched him on the head, knocking him to the ground.

"I told you not to call me that, ero-Uchiha." Shina growled.

"Shina? Is that really you?" Kakashi asked he was surprised.

"It's you...Kakashi-kun." Shina said, startled, and lightly blushed.

"How come you never told me you were in town?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, I mostly came here to meet my nephew Naruto. I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was in town, Ka-kun." Shina replied, using her nickname for Kakashi.

"Wait, if Naruto is your nephew then that would make you his aunt, right?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, that would. My name is Uzumaki Shina, and you are?" Shina asked politely.

"Oh, gomen. My name is Haruno Sakura." Sakura replied.

"Sakura, Sakura. Oh yeah, I remember now, you're the girl Naruto mentioned when he wanted to get stronger so he can protect his precious people during training." Shina said.

"Naruto-kun really did?" Sakura asked and when Shina nodded, she started to blush, 'Naruto-kun really cares about me.' Sakura thought as she looked at the blond.

"So by the way Shina-chan, do you know who trained Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"I do, but I can't tell you." Shina answered.

"Why not?" Kakashi asked, wanting to know who trained Naruto.

"Because they told me not to. Besides, you'll find out on your own later." Shina grinned.

'So he's the son of that wretched bastard, huh? I'll make sure to personally kill him in the near future.' The Kazekage thought.

"Okay you two, I'll keep it short. You win by either defeating, killing or making your opponent forfeit, and if I see fit, I will step in to stop match. With that said, begin!" Genma said and then backed away from the two youths. Naruto immediately got into his stance while Gaara's sand started to leak from his gourd.

"My my Naruto, you look so tense. Are you that scared of fighting me?" Gaara asked with a smirk.

"Actually, I'm excited about the prospect of crushing you to the ground, Gaara." Naruto replied with a smirk.

"Not if I kill you first! Sand Graveyard Cut!" Gaara yelled out and then a sand wave split the ground and headed for Naruto who dodged it by disappearing and reappearing in the air.

"It looks like he started to use his Tenkazedou." Kakashi said.

"Yeah but that level of speed is nowhere near as fast as Lee's." Gai said.

"Fuuton: Kaze Ha Otoshi No Jutsu!" Naruto yelled out and used his favorite technique but Gaara's sand was able to block the attack.

"Is that all you've got? Suna Shuriken!" Gaara yelled out and then unleashed sand-make shurikens at Naruto who once again used his Tenkazedou to move out of the way and reappear a few feet away from Gaara.

"Sunaryuu (Sand Dragon)!" Gaara yelled out and form a dragon out of sand that shot toward Naruto, who saw it coming and went through his own seals.

"Fuuton: Kazerouga (Wind Element: Wind Wolf Fang)" Naruto yelled out and then shot from his hands a wolf-headed wind attack that collided with Gaara's dragon and caused both attacks to cancel each other.

"Wow, this match is intense." Ino said.

Naruto then used his Tenkazedou to disappear and reappear in front and threw a right straight but Gaara's sand was able to move to block it.

"Ha, unlike that other guy, this is the kind of speed Gaara's sand can keep up with. There's no way he's hitting Gaara with that." Kankurou said with a smirk.

Naruto then smirked and suddenly, Gaara was hit by an powerful unseen force that was so powerful that it knocked him straight into the wall of the arena.

"Holy crap, the force behind that attack was incredible but what was that?" Sasuke asked in awe.

"What just happened? Gaara's sand should have blocked that easy!" Temari exclaimed in surprise.

"Can someone tell me what did Naruto just do?" Ten-Ten asked.

"I see what he did now." Kakashi said and everyone turned to listen in, "He practically shot a high-speed wind pressure that basically tore through Gaara's sand like it was nothing and struck him." Kakashi revealed.

"But how is that possible? Wind is fast but that not that fast and Gaara had that sand of his up?" Sakura asked.

"Now I get it. He basically used his Tenkazedou to speed up his arm movement so he could punch faster but not only that but during that time of movement, he was also molding his chakra into winds that he could release through his punch." Gai said as he saw through what Naruto did.

"Sakura, you remember that demonstration I did about chakra in the mission to Wave, remember? Well, it's the exact principle Naruto used in this attack. Wind itself is fast but like you said it's not that fast. But what if that wind was released by an even faster force? Essentially, Naruto used his Tenkazedou to speed up his arm so that it is already moving at high-speeds by the time he shoots that powerful wind attack from his fist." Kakashi explained.

"So basically, Naruto turned his arm into a wind cannon, his arm acting like the cannon and the wind as the cannonball." Sakura said as she understood what was going on.

"Exactly. While the Tenkazedou is not that fast in terms of movement, it makes it up by giving Naruto total body speed instead of just movement speed and with that technique mastered, Naruto was able to then use it as the main cataclyst for his new attack. Against that, Gaara's sand is powerless." Kakashi said.

"So Gaara, how do you like my Tenkazedou: Ranjinsoku (Heavenly Wind Body: Swift Storm)" Naruto asked with a smirk.

"NAMIKAZE NARUTO!" Gaara yelled as he got back up, his sand armor on.

"That sand armor, huh? I'll break it to pieces!" Naruto said and then used his Tenkazedou to move toward Gaara. "Rajinsoku: Shippu Ken (Swift Storm: Hurricane Fist)!" Naruto yelled out and then brought his fist up like an uppercut and even though Gaara had his shield up, Naruto was able to unleash a powerful hurricane that sucked up Gaara, and cut him all over, leaving him floating in the air.

"Now you've made me mad! Suna Bakaretsu (Sand Explosion)!" Gaara growled and then gathered massive amount of sand energy into a ball and fired it at Naruto who moved out of the way. The ball struck the ground and cause a great explosion resulting in a crater.

Naruto was about to run after Gaara when he stopped as he saw a large ball of sand with a small hole in it.

"What is that?" Naruto asked.

'Don't tell me that he's going to use that jutsu?' Kankurou thought.

'That ball of sand, it's probably a much higher defense than his sand shield and it's probably automatic as well which means I might be risking an injury if I rush like that and I also doubt my previous attacks will work judging by the composition of this defense which means, I have to use that jutsu!' Naruto thought, and then created a clone.

"Why is Naruto creating a clone now?" Sasuke asked.

'I'm sorry big brother, I didn't mean for this to happen, but don't worry, I'll finish him off with this technique. Oh yes, there will be blood, lots and lots of blood. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!' Gaara laughed as he was talking to his 'big brother' and then started to chant some seals.

"Is he actually thinking of using that now?" Kankurou asked, trembling.

"But what about the plan? If he uses this now, it will mess up everything!" Temari said.

'Plan?' Shino thought as he overheard the two siblings.

"Okay, let's do it like we practiced!" Naruto told his clone who nodded and then started to do some fast hand motions and as he did, a ball of chakra and wind started to form in Naruto's right hand.

"What is Naruto doing with that clone?" Ino asked.

"It's like he's using to mold chakra into his hand." Sakura said.

"Masaka! He actually mastered that jutsu!" Kakashi exclaimed in surprise.

"What do you mean by that jutsu, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"If it's truly what I think it is, you'll see what I mean." Kakashi replied.

'Wait, this can't be? Did he actually master one of his father's jutsus?' The Hokage thought as he recognized what was happening.

"Okay, here we go!" Naruto said as the jutsu was finished and then he started to run toward Gaara and he did, there were spikes that protruded from the ball of sand, 'Like I thought, he had a defense!' Naruto thought as he avoided them.

"Eat this! FUUTON: RASENGAN! (Wind Element: Spiraling Sphere)" Naruto yelled and then struck the hole with his jutsu. The attack was so powerful that it destroyed the ball of sand and knocked Gaara back into the wall, making a large explosion.

"GAARA!" Kankurou and Temari yelled out.

"So he did master it after all, the Rasengan." Kakashi said.

"The Rasengan?" Sasuke, who had joined his teammate and teacher in the stands, and Sakura both repeated.

"Yes, the Rasengan. The Rasengan was one of the two ultimate techniques created by the Yondaime Hokage. It is the pinnacle of chakra control as it requires immense talent in it to create that technique and it's not just the control of the technique that makes it great, it's the immense power of it. It's so powerful that it causes massive external and internal damage and can even destroy a boulder. Compared to this, my chidori is nothing." Kakashi explained, 'And not only that, but he was able to take one step further than sensei by adding his own nature element into it. Naruto, you're incredible.' Kakashi added mentally.

"Woah." Both genins said.

'But now that I know that he can use this jutsu, I know exactly who trained him during the break.' Kakashi thought.

'Who would have thought that there would actually exist a kid in Konoha capable of doing this to Gaara?' Baki thought.

'Did I do it?' Naruto asked as he look at the hole in the wall.

Gaara came out and stumbled to the ground, coughing blood as he was clutching his stomach in pain.

"Gaara!" His siblings yelled.

"Damn you Namikaze!" Gaara growled.

'Looked it worked.' Naruto said.

"I'll kill you!...Argh!" Gaara said and stood up only to clutch his head in pain.

"What the hell is going on now?" Naruto asked.

"Please big brother, just let me have one more chance! I can kill him! I can..." Gaara started to say but then stopped and his head went down.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Gaara then hollered, startling everyone. He then stopped laughing and looked at Naruto with colder eyes than before. He also let go of his stomach, who had no marks on it.

"What the?" Naruto exclaimed in disbelief

"What the? It did nothing to him?" Sasuke exclaimed in disbelief.

'That kid could survive the Rasengan head-on? Who the devil is he or what is he?' Kakashi thought.

"Do you feel it Shina?" Kyo asked.

"Yeah, I do. Something is different about that kid, something much stronger." Shina said.

"Hello Namikaze Naruto. My name is Sabaku No Shin(true) Gaara. I've heard so much about you from little brother but I'm glad we can finally meet face to face." Gaara said in a much deeper tone.

"Something's changed about him." Gai says.

"He's a totally different person from before." Kakashi said.

"That kind of reaction...that guy has a double personality!" Ino said as she realized what was going on.

"A double personality? You've got to be kidding me!" Sasuke said.

"I'm not. My father made me study about mental cases and split personalities are one of them, and the way he acted fits the case for split personalities. Besides, he mentioned little and big brother, basically indicating the are two Gaaras, and that this one, the big brother, is the real one." Ino explained.

'So, the true Gaara is finally out.' Temari thought.

'This is not good! I hope he only comes after that kid and leaves.' Kankurou thought in fright.

'So that's the big brother he was talking about. The big guy and now he's finally out.' Naruto thought.

"I am impressed that you were able to do so much to little brother, not many have been able to do so in such a long while so you can see I haven't fought in a while." Gaara said.

"Thank you and I'm glad you're out because then I know I have truly defeated you." Naruto said.

Suddenly, bird feathers fell from the sky into the stands, causing some of the audience to fall asleep.

"Everyone, this is a genjutsu, cancel now while you still can!" Kakashi said and he, Gai, Ten-Ten, Sasuke, Sakura, Kyo, and Shina were able to cancel it.

"Well, shall we get going?" The Kazekage asked and then his men threw smoke bombs.

'Operation commence!' Baki, Temari, and Kankurou all thought.

Outside of the stadium, huge snakes suddenly appeared and started to go through the walls of the city. Back in the stadium, the anbus jumped in to start intercepting the attack.

"Li team above, Ro team below. Protect the ministers." The anbu leader in the beige cloak said and they were going to into the smoke when suddenly the Kazekage's bodyguards jumped at them.

"Get out of my way!" The anbu leader said and cut both men in two.

"GWAA!" The voice of someone in pain was heard by the anbus and Kakashi and Gai as then the Kazekage had taken the Hokage hostage and jumped in the roof and also, four shadows sneaked out of the two bodyguard bodies, and landed on the four corners of the roof. One had six arms with a ponytail and dark skin, one was a red-haired girl, the other was large orange-haired man, and the last was a gray-haired man with a strange stump on his back. All wore strange purple costumes but one thing they had in common is that they had sound forehead protectors.

"Do it." The Kazekage ordered

"Ninpou: Quad Purple Flame Wall!" All four said as they activated a large rectangular barrier around the roof.

'Oto-nins.' The Hokage thought as he recognized the ninjas.

"For the sand to betray the leaf..." The Hokage said.

"An alliance is just a camouflage to make the enemy relax their guard. The stupid fighting games end here...from now on, history changes!" The Kazekage said as he had a kunai near the Hokage's cheek.

"You want to start a war, Kazekage?" The Hokage asked.

"Exactly." The Kazekage replied

"We should avoid fighting each other through needless wars and negotiate with each other while there's still time, Kazekage-dono." The Hokage said.

"Heh...do we become peace-loving fools when we age, Sarutobi-sensei." The Kazekage said.

"So it's you..." The Hokage said as he realized who it was though he somehow already knew.

"What the hell is going on here?" Suigetsu asked.

"It seems the sand and sound have joined forces to attack the leaf. Mizukage-sama, what should we do?" Izoa asked.

"I didn't really expect the leaf to be attacked but we can't squander this opportunity to prove ourselves to the leaf." Haku said.

"So what are you saying Haku-chan?" Shinji asked.

"We'll fight alongside the leaf." Haku answered.

"Hold on a sec, you're the Mizukage, your safety should be of the most utmost importance!" Izoa countered.

"Don't think I'm a defenseless little girl, Izoa. Besides, there are a few jutsus I would like to try out." Haku smirked.

"Oh yeah! We're going to fight, fight, fight, fight, FIGHT!" Suigetsu hollered and then headed out.

"That Suigetsu-baka, getting all overexcited because of a simple battle. Though, me and my blade have been itching for a fight since it's been a while since we fought the Mizukage and his swordsmans and this is shaping up to be the perfect battlefield to fight." Izoa said with a bloodlusted face, and then also headed out.

"My, these two sure are bloodthirsty," Shinji said as he saw the two leave, and he then turned to Haku, "Well Haku-chan, shall we get going?" Shinji smiled.

"Hai." Haku nodded and then took off her Mizukage robes to reveal her old combat attire and then she and Shinji headed out.

"Gaara, don't forget about the plan!" Baki said as he and the three siblings jumped down to the arena.

"It seems that this arena will not be enough for us so why don't we move to a more fitting location, Namikaze Naruto?" Gaara asked, completely ignoring Baki.

"GAARA! We don't have time for this, we have a plan to get started." Baki yelled out.

"And who are you to tell me what to do, Baki? I have set my eyes on my target and I will not stop until this target's existence has been devoured by my own. Besides, I doubt you will have problems killing such weak foes, Baki and if you do, I'll just have to come back and clean up the mess like I always do." Gaara replied.

"So Namikaze Naruto, shall we get going?" Gaara asked.

"Go Naruto, I'll hold these guys off. We're in a war and is your enemy and it is your duty to defeat him. Besides, you are already chunnin material so go." Genma said as he saw the blond look at him worried.

"Understood. Let's do this Gaara." Naruto said and both vanished out of sight using shunshin.

'Naruto...' Kakashi thought as he saw the young blond leave.

"Damn that Gaara!" Baki growled.

"What are we supposed to do, sensei?" Temari asked.

"You help out in this battle like I will. We're in a war, remember." Baki replied.

"But what about Gaara? We need him for this!" Kankurou protested.

"Right now, he's focused on that Namikaze kid so he's out of the plan for now. You'll just have to do this on your own until he returns after he's done with that kid since I doubt that kid is strong enough to defeat Gaara. Now go!" Baki yelled and the two genins understood and went off to join the fight. Unberknownst to them, two people in the shadows saw them move and then vanished, heading after them.

"So, is the leader of this party...Orochimaru?" Genma asked.

"Who knows? Let's just have some fun." Baki said and then both jounins rushed toward and collided in battle.

'Nice, now Gaara will be able to crush that Namikaze now that he's at full strength.' The Kazekage thought.

"I see, so that's how it is." The Hokage said.

"Your foolishness has caused the leaf to fall further behind. I have won." The Kazekage said.

"I thought I told you that it wasn't over until it was over...Orochimaru." The Hokage said.

The Kazekage then took off his face to reveal the face of Orochimaru.

"I knew this day would come but don't think that you will get my head so easily." The Hokage smirked.

"I told you that you should hurry and pick the Godaime because today is the day you die, Sandaime!" Orochimaru said and licked his kunai with his tongue.

Kakashi and Gai were about to rush in to help the Hokage when the anbu that knocked out Kiba appeared in front of them.

"What are you doing here? Go help the Hokage!" Gai said.

Then, six oto-nins appeared, three on each side of the anbu.

"So he's a traitor, and the one who activated the genjutsu." Kakashi said.

"Yare, yare, and here I thought this village's security was supposed to be air-tight." Kyo sighed.

"And there's no way we can enter that barrier ninjutsu and on top of that, Orochimaru is with the Hokage." Shina said, and everyone looked at inside the barrier and saw Orochimaru there.

"Orochimaru? That snake bastard is here!" Sasuke growled as he remembered the snake sannin.

"This isn't good at all." Gai said.

"Hey sensei, what should we do? What about Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"I've got a plan but first, let's cut the enemy's size down a bit." Kakashi said as he took a kunai and then he nodded to Gai, Kyo, and Shina and they all dispersed, taking the enemy ninjas around.

Back in the barrier, Orochimaru was looking off at the carnage with tears in his eyes, causing the Hokage to chuckle.

"Are you actually crying because you're so happy or because you are saddened by what you are about to do, Orochimaru?" The Hokage smirked.

"Not at all." Orochimaru said and then stabbed his own hand with his kunai and yawned. "I was feeling sleepy but now I'm awake." Orochimaru added.

"That's what I thought. You're not one to hold a grudge nor do you have a goal for this." The Hokage said.

"Well, I wouldn't say that. I do have a goal. You see, I like to see things in motion. While people like to see things still and actually find them quite beautiful, I however detest them." Orochimaru said as he took off the Kazekage hat.

"You sure haven't changed at all, I see." The Hokage said.

"Sakura! Sasuke! I'm glad you guys are still awake. I want you two to go and wake Shikamaru for me." Kakashi said as he and the others took out more ninjas.

"What for sensei?" Sakura asked.

"It's simple. You guys are going on a A-ranked mission." Kakashi said.

"NANI?" Both yelled.

To Be Continued...

"Yo, the name's Suigetsu here and I'm doing the preview this time"

"How fantastic, I'm pretty sure they'll be greatly informed by your great linguistic skills."

"Urusai Izoa-teme! Anyway, Sakura, Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Kakashi's dog Pakkun are going on a mission to find Naruto and help in battle against that freak Gaara but they won't be the only ones fighting as us swordsman of the mist are going to also help out and battle three swordsman employed by Orochimaru known as the Sadist Brothers and also, Orochimaru and the Hokage are about to battle it out, all that more next time on Namikaze Hokage!"

"That wasn't so bad after all for a baka."

"URUSAI!"

Next time: Sand, Sound, and Swords


	15. Sands, Swords, and a Aranked mission!

Author's Note: Naruto nor the characters of the story belong to me unfortunately and belong rather to Kishimoto Masashi. All I am doing is writing another version of his story according to my creative vision.

As always, thank you for your reviews, they mean alot to me and serve as encouragement to keep this going especially since I'm in my fourth year of college for my Software Engineering program. The characters Rai, Ryuu, Kome, and Nina all belong to Dragon and Sword Master so give him props. 

Orochimaru was looking off at the carnage with tears in his eyes, causing the Hokage to chuckle.

"Are you actually crying because you're so happy or because you are saddened by what you are about to do, Orochimaru?" The Hokage smirked.

"Not at all." Orochimaru said and then stabbed his own hand with his kunai and yawned. "I was feeling sleepy but now I'm awake." Orochimaru added.

"That's what I thought. You're not one to hold a grudge nor do you have a goal for this." The Hokage said.

"Well, I wouldn't say that. I do have a goal. You see, I like to see things in motion. While people like to see things still and actually find them quite beautiful, I however detest them." Orochimaru said as he took off the Kazekage hat.

"You sure haven't changed at all, I see." The Hokage said.

"Sakura! Sasuke! I'm glad you guys are still awake. I want you two to go and wake Shikamaru for me." Kakashi said as he and the others took out more ninjas.

"What for sensei?" Sakura asked.

"It's simple. You guys are going on a A-ranked mission." Kakashi said.

"NANI?" Both yelled.

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 15: Sands, Swords, and an A-ranked mission?!

"What the heck, Kakashi? Why send us on a A-ranked mission?" Sasuke growled as he beat down another sound nin.

"Sasuke's right, sensei. Shouldn't we be helping you instead?" Sakura added.

"Naruto went with Gaara to fight in a more secluded location near the forest. You are to follow them and help Naruto in his fight." Kakashi explained.

"Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked and then saw that Naruto was nowhere to be seen.

"But Kakashi, Naruto beating that guy up. Why do we need to help him out for?" Sasuke asked.

"You remember what Ino said about Gaara having a split personality. Well, that personality...scares me." Kakashi said.

"You're serious?" Sasuke and Sakura both exclaimed as they never thought their sensei would be scared of anything other than being early.

"I'm serious. Naruto is strong but that guy's chakra...it's not human and it's not something Naruto can handle on his own. Listen Sakura, I want you to nullify the genjutsu and wake up Shikamaru. Then, you, Sasuke, and Shikamaru are to go and track down Naruto before it's too late." Kakashi said. He then makes a small cut with his kunai, and put his hand on the back of an unconscious audience member.

"Kuchiyose No Jutsu!" Kakashi said, and then a poof of smoke appeared and then a small dog with a forehead protector appeared.

"This is going to be a member of our team? You're gotta be shitting me." Sasuke asked growling.

"His name is Pakkun and he'll help you track down Sasuke." Kakashi said.

"I may be small but I can track anyone better than you can in my sleep you little punk." Pakkun retorted.

"What did you say, you piece of dog shit! I'll kick your ass!" Sasuke growled back and the two glared at each other, causing sweatdrops to appear on the back of Sakura and Kakashi's heads.

"But sensei, do you think we'll be enough? Don't you think we should wake Chouji or Ino up?" Sakura asked.

"Most likely, shinobi from sand and sound have already entered the village. If you add anymore members than the ones you currently have, then you'll lose more speed and it will be harder to remain hidden from sight. Besides, you four will be more than enough. Now, do as I say and get going." Kakashi said.

"Yes sensei. Sasuke, Pakkun! Stop acting like idiots and help me wake Shikamaru!" Sakura said, the last part growling as she looked at her teammates bickering.

The other two quickly stopped acting up and along with Sakura walked up to where Shikmaru was laying. Sakura went down on her knees and was about to cancel the genjutsu when she saw one of his eyebrows move.

"Shikamaru, you were never affected by the genjutsu at all, we're you?" Sakura asked angrily.

Pakkun then bites on the Nara's leg, causing him to yelp in pain.

"SO I WAS RIGHT! YOU WERE FAKING!" Sakura yelled out.

"Geez, I was just faking so I wouldn't have to fight." Shikamaru said, and then got Pakkun off his leg and stretched one of his cheeks, causing the dog to bite on his finger.

"Now, how are we suppose to get out of here?" Sakura asked as she looked around.

"Sakura! Behind you!" Sasuke yelled to alert the girl as a sound ninja was approaching behind her but before anyone could make a move, Gai struck the enemy as an incredible speed and knocking him through the wall, creating a huge hole, and knocking about 100 feet back.

'That speed...I still have alot of catching up to do.' Sasuke thought as he looked at Gai.

"That's your way out! Again, you are to go and help out Naruto in his fight." Kakashi said.

They nodded and then we're leaving when Kyo put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Make sure your friend doesn't die. He is an important key for this world." Kyo said cryptically.

"Don't worry, he's my best friend and besides, there's no way in hell I'm letting anyone die while I'm alive." Sasuke said, the last part causing his Sharingan to flare as he remembered the massacre.

Kyo grinned and Sasuke did too before heading out.

"I just hope they'll be okay." Kakashi said.

"Don't worry, they'll be fine. More importantly, you guys have to start training harder now or else they'll surpass you guys in no time." Kyo said smirking, causing the other two jounins to laugh sheepishly.

"I agree. I never imagined these kids to be this strong." Kakashi said.

"And they're still so young. It looks like I'll have to triple my training. Hey, where's Ten-Ten?" Gai said, the last part as he was looking for his female student, only to find no trace of her.

"Wow, would you look at that? Great Konoha is getting destroyed. Who would have thought it would ever happen?" A young redhead girl with blue eyes said as she and three others were watching the destruction for a faraway location. She wore a simple red shirt and black pants as well as sneakers and also had daggers in sheathes attached to her pants

"That's what happens when one decides to become lax over the years." A man said. He had dark blue eyes and shaggy blond hair, black fighting pants and a T-shirt, and also has tape on his hands, and many bruises on his body, as well as scratches. He also wore no footwear.

"I wouldn't be too sure to call it quits for them. It looks like they have allies." A young man with black hair, pale skin and aquamarine colored eyes said. He also wore a black shirt with the words "I'm dangerous to myself and others" and black khaki pants. Under that is his fighting uniform, which is the usual, all black uniform.

"ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAAAAAAAAA!" Suigetsu roared as he was plowing through the sand and sound ninjas like a barabarian.

"What the hell is this kid?" One of two sand jounins asked.

"He's a demon, that's what he is!" The second one answered.

"He isn't the only demon around here." Izoa said and then cleaved the two sand jounins in pieces with his buster sword before they could even mutter a word.

The snakes were rumbling through the gates when suddenly, a wave of ice captured them.

"Hijutsu: Hyouha (Secret Technique: Ice Wave)" Haku said and then the snakes exploded into pieces.

"Who the hell is that bitch?" One of the sound jounins asked.

"No one calls Haku-chan that despicable word and gets away with it! Hijutsu: Katana No Mai: Hiken!" Shinji growled as he heard what the sound jounins called his beloved Haku, and punished them by piercing all of them with a rain of katanas.

"This is way too much fun!" Suigetsu said as he continued his rampage.

"These guys...they're strong but they're not wearing the leaf symbol on their protector." The girl said.

"That's because they're not from here but rather from a foreign village, though I can't quite make the symbol of their village." The pale-skinned boy said as he tried to see.

"They're from the Mist, Ryu." A young man with blue eyes, tan skin, and wearing white wolf fur on his legs, arms, and chest (like Koga) said quietly.

"Great eyesight as usual, Kome." Ryu replied.

"So Ryu-aniki, what should we do? Just seeing that guy with that huge sword running through jounin-level ninjas has got me and my blade excited." The larger man asked with a bloodlusted look on his face.

"Well, Orochimaru didn't ask of our help for no reason Rai. Let's have ourselves some fun!" Ryu grinned, and then all disappeared.

"Incoming." Shinji said as he sensed them coming, and in matter of seconds, the four strangers quickly arrived, each in front of one of the Mist Ninjas (Kome to Izoa, Ryu to Shinji, Rai to Suigetsu, and the girl to Haku).

"So who the hell are you guys suppose to be? You don't look like ya from the Sand or Sound." Suigetsu asked as he pointed his blade to Rai.

"We're swordsman known as the Souls. My name is Ryu, the one who is facing you is Rai, the girl is Nina and the one with the wolf fur is Kome. It's a pleasue to meet all of you." Ryu said with a smile.

"That fellow's name is Suigetsu. My name is Shinji, the girl is Haku, and the other one with the white hair is Izoa. Nice to meet you too." Shinji grinned.

"What's the point of being nice to them Shinji-taichou? Besides, they're our enemies and thus need to die." Izoa glared.

"He has a point though I highly doubt you will be able to kill us." Kome replied.

"Is that so? Then why don't you guys put your skills where your mouth is motherfucker. Besides, we got four on four, it's pretty fair right, Haku-neechan?" Suigetsu smirked.

"I think that's more than fair. Besides, there's some new tricks I would like to try out." Haku said as she got her senbon ready.

"Looks like it settled since there's no point of holding them back. But before we get started, let's move to different locations so that way we won't get in the way of ourselves and also not destroy this entire village." Shinji grinned.

"Of course." Ryu grinned back, and everyone disappeared.

(Ryu vs Shinji)

Ryu and Shnji quickly reappeared on a roof of the temple where Gaara killed Dosu.

"We sure lead a bloodthirsty bunch don't we, Ryu-san?" Shinji asked.

"You're right about that. But enough of the friendly talk, it's time for us to find out who is the stronger leader." Ryu said as he got serious.

"Got that right. Hmm. Hitou Kuchiyose: Tentou (Hidden Sword Summoning: Heaven Sword)" Shinji said and then used his kekkai genkai to summon his Tentou, which was basically a chinese broadsword with a golden hilt.

"Ooh, so I guess that summoning must be your kekkai genkai. Impressive, Shinji-san." Ryu said and then took out a kodachi.

"Nani? A kodachi in a battle like this? Get serious and stop underestimating, yaro!" Shinji growled as he felt insulted at his opponent's weapon of choice.

"Oh but believe me, I'm not underestimating you since I never underestimate my opponents. It's you rather that should not underestimate me because of my weapon." Ryu smirked.

They both then disappeared from view and reappeared in the middle, swords clashing. They began to swing their sword at each other, neither getting an advantage on each other.

"Jinsoku Hagiri (Rapid Wave Slash)!" Ryu yelled out and then unleashed a volley of high-speed horizontal stabs at Shinji who dodges them. Ryu then smirks and begins to move from one point in the roof to another at high speeds, basically being invisible to the naked eye. Shinji then summoned a sword and stabbed it on the ground to his right as Ryu reappeared there, hoping to strike Shinji but was blocked by the sword. Shinji then swings his sword at Ryu in hopes of ending this fight but was surprised as Shinji turned into a log. Shinji cursed and then looked up to see Ryu coming down with his sword swinging. Shinji then jumps back to dodge the blow.

"Hebinagi (Snake Slayer)!" Shinji yelled out and then dashed at Ryu at high speed while the other was recovering his move. Ryu hurried to put his guard and thus was able to block the attack right on time. The two then began to swing their swords at high speeds and then dashed past each other, each ending behind the other, and then a slashing mark appear on each of their chest, not too deep of scars though.

"This is fun!" Ryu said as he looked back at Shinji with a grin.

"Don't get too comfortable, I'm about to get serious now." Shinji replied.

"And so am I. You have you secret skill, and so do I and it's my pleasure to show it to you Shinji-san." Ryu said with a smirk.

"Secret Skill?" Shinji pondered.

"Kage Hishun (Shadow Flying Flash)" Ryu said and then disappears into his own shadow and then reappears from Shinji's own shadow.

"NANI?" Shinji exclaimed in total surprise.

"Shi-ne (die)." Ryu said and then swung his kodachi to cut Shinji's head off.

(Izoa vs Kome)

"I can't believe I'll have to fight someone like you. Hopefully, you will be able to provide me with some amusement, Kiri shinobi." Komoe said as they were located in one of the streets in the northern part of the village. He then took out his longsword which had wolf fur near the hilt.

"Arrogant aren't we? Like they say, only the weaklings bark." Izoa replied with a smirk.

"Why you! Rougakyaku (Wolf Fang Leg)!" Komoe growled and then sends a slicing wave of air pressure at Izoa with a kick from his right leg.

"Too slow." Izoa said and then disappears to avoid the attack.

"This is the end!" Izoa said as he came down swinging, only for Komoe to jump and block the swing with his right leg.

'Masaka! He blocked my buster sword with his bare leg?' Izoa thought in surprise.

"I'm a weakling, huh?" Komoe asked the swordsman and then smacked him in the face with a vicious right roundhouse kick, knocking him back.

"Yonrougakyaku (Four-Way Wolf Fang Leg)!" Komoe then said and then sends four rougakyakus at Izoa's body, creating an explosion.

"Too easy. Huh?" Komoe began to say but then his eyes widened as he saw Izoa standing there, with only a few scratches on him.

"Giriyou (Cutting Demon)!" Izoa said and then dashed toward Komoe and aimed to cut him in two but then Komoe jumped in the air.

"Rouhou (Wolf Cannon)!" Komoe said and then shot himself to the back of Izoa at high-speed like a cannonball. He then swings his sword, only for it to be blocked by Izoa's second sword that came out of nowhere.

"What the? I never saw you summon a sword!" Komoe said.

"That's thanks to my sword, Rebellion. It's actually six swords in one, and with a simple trick, I can pull out one of the other swords from within Rebellion like I did right now. You really thought you had me huh, ookami hanyou?" Izoa said, the last part surprising Komoe.

"How did you know?" Komoe asked.

"It's because you're not the first hanyou I've seen and besides, what kind of human would wear wolf fur for the hell of it. And plus, your leg strength told me the rest. No human could have blocked my steel-cutting Rebellion with their bare leg." Izoa explained.

"So you know my true nature now, do you? I guess it's time for me to unleash the beast within!" Komoe said and then his eyes turned white as his fangs and claws grew bigger and wolf whisker marks appeared on his cheeks.

"Rougan (Wolf Bullet)!" Komoe yelled out in a deeper voice and then got on all four and dashed toward Izoa at incredible speeds.

"Ni Zantenha (Double Cutting Heaven Wave)" Izoa yells out and then swings both his swords horizontally, unleashing two slicing waves. Both waves hit Komoe but he is unfazed by them and smacks Izoa in the stomach with his elbow, sending him flying. Komoe was not done yet and then used his Rouhou to jump into the air and dive at Izoa.

"Ookami Kuracchi (Wolf Clutch!)" Komoe yells out and then digs his feet deeper into Izoa's chest and then smacks him into the ground hard, creating a crater.

"So, am I still weak huh, Kiri Kenkaku (Mist Swordsman)?" Komoe asked with a hollowing laugh.

"Urusai..." Izoa whispered.

"What was that?" Komoe asked Izoa.

"Suiton: Suidan No Jutsu(Water Release: Water Blast Technqiue)" Izoa said and then a large torrent of water smacked Komoe right in the chest, knocking him through several buildings.

"If you think you got me beat, ookami hanyou, then you're obviously mistaken. I refuse to be beaten by the likes of you. However, I do appreciate what you did. I was feeling sleepy for a while but thanks to you, I finally woke up and now I'm ready to kill you." Izoa said as he got back and cracked his neck.

"Such arrogance! I'll make you pay for it." Komoe growled as he got back up.

"In your dreams." Izoa coolly replied.

(Suigetsu vs Rai)

BOOM! CRASH!

These are the noises that could be heard as the two combatants duked it out.

"Ryuusei Satsu (Falling Dragon Death)!" Suigetsu yelled out as he dived down with his sword ala a piledriver. Rai dodges in time and Suigetsu's attack causes a crater on the ground. Rai then swings his sword to cleave Suigetsu. But then, Suigetsu grabbed Rai's sword with his left hand and then tossed Rai into a building. Then, the same house that Rai was tossed into was suddenly lifted into the air and then thrown at Suigetsu who cuts it to multiple pieces.

"Raiha (Thunder Wave)!" Rai yelled out and then shot a wave of lightning at Suigetsu, who gets shocked by it and sent flying into a building. Suigetsu gets back up with burned marks on his body, and spits out some blood.

"You're tough, you know that." Rai laughed.

"Yeah, I hear that alot." Suigetsu said.

"Say Suigetsu. Why don't you become my nakama?" Rai asked.

"Nakama? Are you high?" Suigetsu asked

"Ha, ha, ha. Listen, we both have enormous strength, we can take over this world and be invincible. Both of our groups holds us back because of their weakness. With them out of their way, we can become a powerful duo that strikes fear into the hearts of man. So what do you think?" Rai asked with a smirk.

"Sounds interesting but I'll have to pass. Besides, I have too many things to do. I got women to bang, food to eat and people to kill and I highly doubt I would like to do it with someone else. I'm the selfish type you know. And besides, you'll only kill me in the end." Suigetsu smirked.

"Hmm, too bad you said that. We really could have been a great duo. But if you insist, then you MIGHT AS WELL DIE! RAIHA!" Rai said and then unleashed his attack once again but Suigetsu deflects it.

"Daitsuitai (Great Water Body)" Suigetsu said quietly as he drank water from his bottle and then his arms grew bigger, and so did his legs and chest, basically him look very muscular like Toguro.

"What the hell is that? What did he do to his body?' Rai thought in confusion as he saw the transformation.

"Daisuitairyuu: Kusanagi!" Suigetsu yells out and dashes toward Rai and swings his sword (AN: yes, I love Zoro's onigiri technique so sue me for basing some techniques off it.) Rai blocks it but then starts to get pushed back by it.

'That guy's strength has just skyrocketed through the roof! I can't push him back!' Rai thought and then was knocked back into a series of buildings by the power of Suigetsu's attack.

"I'm not done yet! Daisuitairyuu: Ryuusei Satsu!" Suigetsu yells out and then jumps up at incredible height and comes toward Rai in order to damage him even more but then just as he swung his sword, he was electrocuted by electricity coming from Rai's body. Suigetsu yelled in pain as he was knocked back a couple of feet.

"You thought you had me didn't you, you little shit. I now see through your technique. You basically turned the water you drank into chakra and send it into your arms, legs, and chest to activate your technique. But you see, I can also change my body's composition as well. By turning my chakra into electricity with my lightning affinity, I can turn my body into a live electrical current and no matter how powerful your attack is, they won't faze me thanks to the electrical current I can put out from my body. Face it kid, you don't stand a chance against me!" Rai said and laughed.

(Haku vs Nina)

"Oh, what is this?" Nina said as she found herself in a dome of mirrors.

"This is my Makyo Hyoshou. Once you're trapped in it, you cannot escape!" Haku said.

"Oh really? Too bad for you, fire beats ice!" Nina said.

"That won't work against my ice technique. No fire can melt it." Haku said and then started to throw senbons.

"Is that so? Then let's try it! Hiteiou (Flame Emperor)!" Nina said and then fire erupted from her body and engulfed all of the ice and effectively melted them.

"So what were you saying?" Nina asked with a smirk but then saw that Haku had turned into smoke.

"Bushin?" Nina said.

"Sensatsu Suishou!" Haku yelled and then hundreds of water needles headed toward Nina.

" Houka Tsuki (Fire Spit)!" Nina yelled and then spit out the same number of fireballs, countering the needles.

Haku then rushed toward Nina from behind her and then started to swing her needles at her at high-speeds, but Nina was able to dodge them.

"Hyoton: Hyouha No Jutsu (Ice Release: Ice Wave Technique)" Haku yelled out and with her free hand then unleashed a wave of ice. Nina dodged it just in time and then watched as the wave of ice struck a small building and blew it up.

"That was close. Hmm, you're very powerful Haku-chan." Nina smiled.

"Arigatou. You're very strong too." Haku replied.

"It's too bad we have to fight because we could have been really good friends! Higan (Flame Bullet)!" Nina said and then fired fire bullets from her fingers.

"Hyoton: Hyojinheki (Ice Release: Ice Wall)!" Haku said and then forms a wall of ice to protect her.

"It's useless. My fire is a magical type of fire that can burn through anything!" Nina laughed and as she said, her bullets broke through Haku's ice and struck her, knocking her down.

"Just give up girl. My fire can never be defeated by anything." Nina said.

"I wouldn't be so boastful. Hyoton: Hyoryuudan (Ice Release: Ice Dragon Blast)" Haku said as she got back up and then unleashed an ice dragon at the girl.

"Two can play at this game! Karyuudan (Fire Dragon Blast)!" Nina yells out and then unleashes a fire dragon to counter Haku's ice dragon. But to her suprise, her dragon was frozen and destroyed by Haku's ice dragon. Lucky for Nina, she was able to dodge the dragon who froze a part of the roof they were on.

"How is that possible?" Nina asked.

"My ice can freeze anything it touches. The only reason why your flames were able to ge through my techniques earlier is because they were not freezing anything. My Hyoruudan technique is one of those techniques that freezes things and thus can freeze anything it touches." Haku explained.

"It looks like I'll have to try harder then." Nina smirked and then took out her daggers, and engulfed them in flames.

"What the heck were those noises we just heard?" Kankurou asked as he and his sister stopped on a rooftop.

"I don't know but from what I can guess, there's been some major fighting going on." Temari said as she looked around.

The brother and sister duo then felt something coming at them, and when they turned, Kankurou was quickly grabbed by a hand formed out of bugs, who then took him away somewhere else.

"Kankurou!" Temari yelled out.

"I would be worried more about myself if I were you." A voice said.

Before Temari could try to find out who it was, an explosion occured from underneath her, causing her to fall into the building.

"W...who's there?" Temari asked as she got back up. She looked up and saw Ten-Ten looking at her.

"It's time for some payback, you bitch!" Ten-Ten smirked, and then took out her new naginata, and then jumped up and swung it at Temari who blocked it.

"You again? Don't you ever learn?!" Temari growled as she pushed Ten-Ten back.

"This time I won't lose!" Ten-Ten replied.

"We'll see about that! Ninpou: Kamaitachi!" Temari yelled out and then unleashed her attack.

"Hmm. Tatsumaki (Twister)!" Ten-Ten replied and then unleashed a tornado out of her own chakra which nullified Temari's Kamaitachi.

"Like I said, I won't lose this time." Ten-Ten grinned.

"Yare, yare. It looks like I can't go easy on you like I did with you last time. Alright, but be warned, a mistress of the wind is one that is quite ferocious!" Temari said and then puts her fan to the ground, then bites her finger and then wipes it on the fan, basically putting blood onto the fan, "Kuchiyose: Hiaoru (Summoning: Secret Fan)" Temari said, and then a second fan similar to the first, pops in. Then she does another seal and both her fans shrink considerably, enabling her to hold both with one hand each.

"Two fans huh? That won't help you!" Ten-Ten says and then swings her naginata, unleashing a slicing wave at Temari who then grins and takes her new fan and uses it to absorb the attack and then that same attack is fired back from it toward Ten-Ten, who rolls out of the way to dodge it.

"What happened?" Ten-Ten asked.

"That second of fan is called Mikon Touza (Wild Current). It is a defense-specialized fan that has the ability to to absorb any attack and fired it right back at the opponent. Coupled with my original fan which is offensive-specialized, it creates an unstoppable combination." Temari smirked.

"Is that so? Let's just put that combination to this test with this little baby of mine! Sho-ro Kaichou (Crying Melody)!" Ten-Ten yells out and then takes out her weapon scrolls and summons an over-sized Guqin-Guzheng hybrid (basically a harp and guitar put together).

"What is that thing?" Temari asked.

"Oh you'll see, you'll see." Ten-Ten grinned.

Meanwhile, the hand that grabbed Kankurou drops him on the streets a couple of meters from where his sister was fighting.

"What the hell was that?" Kankurou asked as he got back up.

"I hope that this time, you won't forfeit our match." A deep voice said

Kankurou turned around and when saw none other than Aburame Shino.

"Oh it's you. What, you still want to fight me?" Kankurou asked.

"Of course. You are my opponent and until we fight, you will always be my opponent. Besides, what better to spend one's day?" Shino said.

"If you insist. Anyway, I've been iching to try out Karasu's machinations and you seem to be the perfect target practice." Kankurou smirked as he unraveled Karasu.

"If you try to underestimate me, you will die." Shino said, and then bugs started to engulf his arms.

Meanwhile, back on the rooftop where the Hokage and Orochimaru were standing, The Hokage had taken off his uniform, revealing a black fighting gear.

"So, you have your funeral prepared I see. Hmm, to be able to fight you again." Orochimaru said and then took off the Kazekage robes he was using, revealing his old costume.

"This barrier can only be broken from the inside, can it?" One of the anbu from outside the barrier asked.

"If only the Hokage could take out one of those four, we could join in." The anbu leader said.

"Hey, it's about time to get starterd." Kidoumaru said.

"Put up a barrier on the inside too." Sakon added on.

"Yeah." Jiroubou said while Tayuya just nodded.

Then, the sound four strengthened the barrier and added another inside.

"Heh, it looks like I won't be able to escape after all." The Hokage said as he noticed what had just happened.

"Like you would have...you would rather have no one come inside to get in your way, right?" Orochimaru chuckled and the Hokage smirked in response.

"Damn..." The anbu leader whispered.

The two men stared at each other and as they did, cracks on the ground began to manifest. In a instant, both were dashing toward each other while at the same time, each was doing a seal of their own.

"Shuriken Kage Bushin No Justu!" The Hokage said and then a shuriken was thrown and then multiplied itself into hundreds that flew toward Orochimaru.

"Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei (Summoning: Wordly Ressurection)!" Orochimaru yelled out as he finished his set of seals and then a pillar with a kanji in it rose from the ground and blocked the shurikens.

'To use his summoning as a shield and these corpses are...' The Hokage thought as he recognized the technique.

"Two!" Orochimaru said as a second one rose from the ground.

'No matter what, I must do something about the third one!' The Hokage thought

"Three!" Orochimaru said.

'The third one didn't seem to work. Oh well, that's fine with me.' Orochimaru thought.

'I was able to stop the third one but things are about to get tougher now. Of all people, for him to summon these two.' The Hokage thought.

Then, the front of the two pillars collapsed and revealed two people; the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokage.

"It can't be...it's them!" The anbu leader said.

"Who's them?" The other anbu asked.

"It's been a long time, saru." The Nidaime Hokage said.

"Oh it's you. My, you have grown old, haven't you Sarutobi." The Shodaime said.

"I would never have imagined meeting you in a situation like this. It's regrettable." Sarutobi said.

"This is really bad." The anbu leader said.

"That summoning! Who in the earth are those two?" The anbu asked.

"Prepare yourself, Shodaime Hokage, Nidaime Hokage." Sarutobi said.

"Nani?" The anbu exclaimed.

"The one with the black hair is the Shodaime, and the one with the white hair is the Nidaime. They are hailed as the great of all of Konoha shinobis and were responsible for creating Konoha as it is now." The anbu leader explained.

"Edo Tensei, huh? What a guy that kid is." The Nidaime said regarding Orochimaru.

"If that is so Sarutobi, then we will have no choice to but to fight you." The Shodaime said.

"How about you two leave off with the old folks chatter and get started, don't you?" Orochimaru said as he approached the two.

"No matter how much the world changes, there is always fighting. " The Shodaime said.

"But you like the idea, don't you?" Orochimaru chuckled.

"Making tools of the dead. No good will ever come from playing with time." Sarutobi glared.

"Damn it, why am I assigned to something like this? Besides, Naruto can take care of himself just fine. I mean, he was flattening that Gaara all over the place back in the stadium." Shikamaru said as the group was moving toward the forest.

"It can't be helped! It's Kakashi-sensei's orders!" Sakura said.

"And besides, Kakashi said that this Gaara guy was no joke and to think of it, I believe that too. Besides, if we were in the same predicament, Naruto would have come through for us and thus we need to do the same. He's a fellow comrade after all!" Sasuke added.

"Is going with Hinata taming that temper of yours, Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked with a smirk.

"Urusai." Sasuke said, blushing, causing the other two to snicker.

"This way guys!" Pakkun said as smelled Naruto, and the others followed him.

"So those are the kids Kabuto warned us about huh?" One of the sound ninjas asked as they were standing on a rooftop.

"Yeah, and according to these cards, they're pretty strong." Another added.

"They will make for a good hunt. Let's go!" The leader said, and they all went after our heroes.

Meanwhile, both Gaara and Naruto reappeared in the middle of the forest, each on a tree branch, facing other.

"I guess this will make a nice place for our battlefield, Namikaze Naruto." Gaara said.

"I don't know what you are but I will defeat you, Sabaku no Gaara!" Naruto said.

"You can never defeat me, Naruto. Do you want to know why?" Gaara said.

"Why is that?" Naruto asked with a glare.

"Because...of your existence. As long as you exist as the way you are, you will never defeat me." Gaara said.

"You're wrong! I will beat you!" Naruto said.

"I will kill you!" Gaara replied.

To Be Continued...

"Hey guys, it's me Naruto and I'm doing the preview this time. Why is Gaara so bent on this idea of existence? What does he mean by our existence? Whatever the case, I will defeat him because I can't afford to die right now but it doesn't look like it's going to be easy, especially with those new tricks up his sleeve, but I don't care because I will become Hokage! Next time, on Namikaze Hokage!

Next chapter: Existence


	16. Existence

Author's Note: Naruto nor the characters of the story belong to me unfortunately and belong rather to Kishimoto Masashi. All I am doing is writing another version of his story according to my creative vision.

Dragon and Sword Master: I noticed that spelling change, my bad but I was such in a rush you know. Also, the Ryuusei Satsu was used against Rai I believe, not Kome but you can borrow that and any technique really. I do owe you big time for your OC's.

Again guys, thank you for all the reviews you have given me, it helps keep me going! Only three or maybe four more chapters before I end this exam and move on to Akatsuki and Tsunade with plenty of twists as usual!

"I guess this will make a nice place for our battlefield, Namikaze Naruto." Gaara said.

"I don't know what you are but I will defeat you, Sabaku no Gaara!" Naruto said.

"You can never defeat me, Naruto. Do you want to know why?" Gaara said.

"Why is that?" Naruto asked with a glare.

"Because...of your existence. As long as you exist as the way you are, you will never defeat me." Gaara said.

"You're wrong! I will beat you!" Naruto said.

"I will kill you!" Gaara replied.

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 16: Existence

"That look on your face tells it all, Namikaze Naruto. Deep down, you truly hate me don't you?" Gaara asked, and when Naruto didn't answer, he sighed and continued, "It's too bad you have wasted your existence so much or else I would have taken that look on your face a bit more seriously." Gaara smirked.

"What do you mean by that? How did I waste my existence?" Naruto asked.

"You've wasted it by creating bonds between others and allowing them to guide your heart and desires." Gaara replied.

"What did you say?" Naruto growled.

"Our existence is the essence of our life and purpose in truest sense. Not only that but everyone's existence is connected through to another and thus creates an hierachy of existence. Those with stronger existences are on the top while those that have weak existences are at the bottom. They become the prey while the stronger ones become the predators and thus devour the preys and thus their existences. One can only go up the ladder if they start to devour the existences and also perfect their own existence. Creating bonds with others only serve to corrupt our own existence and allows theirs to eat our existence. By living for yourself and fighting for yourself and erasing the existence of others, your existence will then grow and climb up the ladder until you have reached the very top and thus pinnacle of life. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Gaara explained and then started to laugh.

Naruto then glared and disappeared and reappeared in front of Gaara, and punched him right in the face, knocking him back a few feet.

"You're wrong! Having friends and people you care and creating bonds with them does not make one weak, it makes them strong because it gives you a purpose and the strength to overcome! If it wasn't for my nakama, there's no way I would have become the ninja I am today. It's thanks to them that I was able to overcome my living hell and become who I am and there's no way I'll ever destroy these bonds!" Naruto said.

"How noble of you but you're still wrong, and it looks like I'll have to prove it to you. Suna Ranshuriken (Sand Storm Shuriken)" Gaara said and then shot multiple slicing sand waves at Naruto.

"Kaze Burrika (Wind Flicker)!" Naruto yelled out and then punched his right fist multiple times, sending slicing wind waves to counter Gaara's technique. But then a fist that looked more like a grotestque demon arm came forth and struck Naruto in the gut and sent him flying.

"Fuuton: Mugen Sajin Daitoppa (Wind Release: Infinite Sand Cloud Great Breakthrough)!" Gaara said with his right arm now turned into the arm of Shukaku and then unleashes a powerful wind blast from his mouth toward Naruto, who gets hit by it but then turned into smoke.

"Bushin, huh. That means you're up!" Gaara laughed and looked up to see Naruto in mid-air, preparing his Rasengan.

"Eat this! Fuuton: Rasengan!" Naruto yells out and then dives down and unleashes his Rasengan on Gaara.

"Suna Tate: Suna Ana (Sand Shield: Sand Hole)!" Gaara said and then his shield surrounded him and when the Rasengan struck the shield, instead of going through like last time, the sand sucked in the Rasengan.

"What in the world?" Naruto asked.

"This technique turns my sand into a quicksand, absorbing any attack but that's not all. Impact!" Gaara explains and then yells out and Naruto was struck by an unkown force, causing him to cough out blood.

"Impact allows my sand to send back the force of the attack it absorbed on the opponent. HA!" Gaara said and then uppercuted Naruto in the air with his Shukaku arm.

'He's so much stronger now...' Naruto thought.

A tail of Shukaku forms on Gaara, and he then jumps up and uses it to smack Naruto hard into a couple of trees.

"Do you see now? Do you now see why your existence will never overcome mine!" Gaara said

"Urusai! As long as I believe in my dreams, I will beat you!" Naruto said as he got back up.

"Ha! Dreams are for the weak!" Gaara laughed.

"Kyoukudai Tenkazedou: Shipuuryuuken (Maximum Heavenly Wind Body: Wind Dragon Fist)!" Naruto yells out and then a dragon-headed hurricane engulfed his right arm and he dashed at tremendous speed toward Gaara.

"Interesting Namikaze Naruto! Sunaryuuken (Sand Dragon Fist)!" Gaara yelled out and did the same technique as Naruto's except with sand and dashed in to meet Naruto midway. When both attacks collided, it created a huge explosion and shockwave that ripped through the forest.

On their way to finding Naruto, Shikamaru, Sakura, Sasuke, and Pakkun all felt the shockwaves.

"What the hell is going on?" Shikamaru asked.

"It looks like they're not holding back anything all." Sasuke said.

"No time to comment on the fight, we gotta pick up the pace now before we get caught!" Pakkun told the group.

"Get caught? What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"From behind, two squads with eight men, no, another is following so make it nine men chasing us!" Pakkun informed the group as they kept moving.

"Already? Man, you've got to be kidding me!" Shikamaru said.

"Doesn't look like they got a fix on our position but they quickly closing in on us while at the same time being on the lookout for any surprise attacks." Pakkun said.

"Shit! That means they're all chunnin level or higher...If they catch us, we'll be annihilated." Shikamaru realized.

'Annihilated?' Sakura thought as she realized the situation.

"Damn it! If that's the case then we should we ambush them now!" Sasuke growled

"Come to think of it, we'll certainly have a great advantage if we do ambush them. Even if they're twice the number, as long as we can surprise them..." Sakura began to say.

"It's no use. They're subordinates of Orochimaru, who's from Konoha you know." Pakkun said, interrupting the girl.

"Geez! I thought that would really have worked." Shikamaru said.

"But so what? Why wouldn't it work?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, what are you saying that for?" Sasuke also asked.

"You guys just don't get it do you? Alright, listen up. Yes, an ambush is a key tactic in combat and can be very beneficial, but in order to do so, it has to meet two conditions." Shikamaru said.

"Well, what are those conditions?" Sasuke asked.

"The first condition is that the ninjas that are going to do the ambush must be perfectly quiet and also be able to locate the enemy's location. Two, they have to be able to catch the pursuers off-guard and at a location where they can do a lot of damage quickly and conceal themselves quickly and it's only under those two conditions that an ambush can truly be successful. Now, the first condition won't be so hard to accomplish since we have a nin-dog that can locate them and the second one is not hard either considering we know the layout of Konoha like the back of our hands. The problem is that these are Orochimaru's men and since Orochimaru is a former ninja of this leaf, it's more than likely that his subordinates also know the layout of this village so we're out of luck on that condition. On top of that, they're probably pursuit specialists so they're well-experienced when dealing with situations like this." Shikamaru explained.

"So basically, they already know all the cards we hold, right?" Sakura asked.

"Probably but there are too many unknown factors to consider and on top of that, they are a specialized team while we're not. A key tactic in operations like this is to be able to grasp the enemy's capabilities and formulating a plan around it. The only way for us to get away from them is to create a diversion that only looks like an ambush." Shikamaru answered.

"A diversion?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, a diversion. It's the only way we can get away from them but the problem is, one of us has to stay back in order to become that decoy and slow them down. If one of us can delay them, then they'll probably lose track of us. However, the one who becomes the decoy is may most likely...die." Shikamaru said.

This caused the group to stop in their tracks in order to think about it.

"So who wants to become the decoy? Besides, the dog is needed for this mission." Shikamaru said.

"Alright then...I'l do it!" Sasuke said.

"No you won't, I will." Shikamaru cut him off.

"What the hell?" Sasuke asked.

"Why you Shikamaru?" Sakura asked.

"It's simple really. Out of the three of us, I'm the only one who has the techniques needed for this kind of mission considering the Shadow Spot and Shadow Imitation Techniques are perfect for delay tactics while none of your techniques are. Besides, Naruto's a friend of mine and I would hate to not have been able to do anything at all to help him. Now you guys go, I'll be fine." Shikamaru said, waving them off.

"Okay then Shikamaru. We'll leave it to you but you better not die, yaro." Sasuke nodded and the rest of the group headed off.

'Be careful Shikamaru.' Sakura thought as she looked back at her comrade.

The oto-nins that were following our group stopped in their tracks as they noticed a branch that was broken and paw and shoe prints on the trees.

'Amateurs' The leader thought.

"They're getting closer and closer! Is he really delaying them?!" Pakkun asked.

"Quit your yapping. Shikamaru may be a lazy-ass but once he puts his mind into something, he'll follow through." Sasuke grinned.

"And besides, we should have faith in our nakama." Sakura added.

"I sure hope you guys are right." Pakkun said.

"Phew...I managed to make good on my escape." Shikamaru said as he was sitting against a tree.

The oto-nins landed on the ground as they saw the prints when they stopped as they saw a kunai on the ground.

"Not only are they are amateurs but one of them even dropped their kunai." One of them said but then their eyes widened as the kunai turned into a large shadow that entered their own shadow and caused them to freeze.

"What the hell was that?" They asked.

"Didn't your old folks ever tell you to not trust everything you see with your eyes? And by the way, just to make it clear, this is the identity of the dog tracks, okay?" Shikamaru asked as he showed the oto-nins the pieces of trees he used to create a miniature dog feet.

"Would ya look at that? He's just a kid." One of the oto-nins said.

"And to think we got caught by him." Another added.

"So what the hell is this jutsu? Never seen that one before?" The first oto-nin asked.

"This is a creation of my own, the Kagemane Mokushi No Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Spot Technique)" Shikamaru grinned, 'I knew it. This match was a mistake. I used up too much chakra. I won't last very long.' Shikamaru added mentally.

'With this, it'll become clear.' Shikamaru thought as he then took out some kunais and threw it at the oto-nins but they were then deflected by shuriken from someone above a tree nearby.

'So there's one more, eh?' Shikamaru said and then tried to extend a part of his Shadow Spot to where the oto-nin was but was unable to do so, 'Shit...the speed of the shadow won't increase. I don't have any more stamina to convert into chakra.' Shikamaru thought.

"That technique of yours is now useless." One of the oto-nins said.

'I guess this it.' Shikamaru thought.

"Look like you're at the end of your rope. That technique will soon be released. Best be prepared." The oto-nin warned.

'Geez, all I wanted was to be an average ninja and then marry an average wife, have children who become successful and retire. Then, go away with my old wife to somewhere peaceful and play some shogi and enjoy life. Guess not everything goes your way, huh?' Shikamaru thought as he looked up at the sky.

"The pursuers have stopped moving! He really did it after all!" Pakkun said.

"Way to go Shikamaru!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"That's Shikamaru for you!" Sakura said.

'You just better not die on us thought, Shikamaru." Sasuke thought.

'It's like you said, I've reached my limit." Shikamaru said as his shadow spot faded.

"Hey, how'z about coming down there and while you're at it, chop off this kid's head off for us." The oto-nin told the hidden one.

Shikamaru's eyes widened and he then felt a presence behind but when he looked behind him, it was none other than his sensei Asuma with the hidden oto-nin under his right arm.

"I've finally caught up with you, Shikamaru." Asuma said.

"Asuma-sensei!" Shikamaru said.

"We'll kill you!" The leader said and they all charge toward him. Asuma then smirked and dashed right past them, and then deep slashing marks appeared on each of their chest, and they feel to the ground dead.

'Woah, Asuma.' Shikamaru thought before then dropping to the ground, tired.

'You did good Shikamaru, but for the time being, you're done.' Asuma thought as he looked at his student.

"Before we get started, let's return you to your former selves." Orochimaru said and then injected a kunai into the back of the Shodaime and Nidaime, returning them to their former forms.

"They look as they did before even now." Sarutobi said.

"They seem to be gaining more vitality? What kind of jutsu is this?" The anbu asked.

"Edo Tensei...a forbidden kuchiyose that allows one to bring back the dead. Normally, in order for the summoning to work, it needs the blood of the caster but in order for this technique to work, I've heard it requires the body of a living body as a sacrifice to use as a vessel for the technique." The leader explained.

'Then the bodies of these two...are those of the sacrifice?" The anbu asked.

"Probably the dust and ashes surrounding them are those of the sacrificed bodies and they take on the original forms of those summoned and erase their original personalities, effectively turning them into mere killing puppets" The anbu leader explains.

"Ha, ha, ha. Complete." Orochimaru said.

"Tell me sensei. Do you know the happiness and sense of accomplishment one gets when they have the chance to kill the one they once called master? I thought I'd have you experience that pleasure and thus I have prepared this situation for you. Please, enjoy yourself!" Orochimaru said.

"Katon: Karyuu Endan (Fire Release: Fire Napalm Blast)!" Sarutobi said and then unleashed a large wave of fire from his mouth.

"Suiton: Suijinheki!" The Nidaime replied and shot a wall of water from his mouth to stop the fire attack.

'To be able to to use such a high-level water technique in a place where there is no water! Unbelievable!' The anbu leader thought.

'As you'd expect from a former hokage after all.' Orochimaru thought

"Suiton: Suiryuudan No Jutsu!" The Nidaime said and then unleashed a water dragon at Sarutobi.

"Doton: Doryuuheki!" Sarutobi replied and created a tall and wide wall of earth to stop the water attack, and then climbed up on it.

"Katon: Houka Arashi (Fire Release: Fire Storm)!" Sarutobi yelled out and unleashed a volley of fireballs at the two Hokages.

"Suiton: Umi Hebi Se (Water Release: Sea Serpent Torrent)!" The Nidaime replied and then shot out from his mouth a barrage of water-made serpents to counter the fireballs.

"Suiton: Suihouha (Water Release: Water Cannon Blast)!" The Nidaime said and then unleashed a massive water ball from his mouth which easily destroys the earth wall.

"Ninpou: Saru Gyorai (Ninja Art: Monkey Torpedo)!" Sarutobi yelled out and then spins his body around and dives toward the Nidaime and smacked him in the stomach with both his legs, knocking him back.

"Mokuton Hijutsu (Wood Release Secret Technique)..." The Shodai Hokage started to say

'This is the Shodai Hokage's secret technique...This won't do.' Sarutobi thought as he bit on one of his fingers.

"Jyukai Koudan (Forest Genesis)!" The Shodai finished saying, and then many tree branches, basically forming a giant tree, began to rise up from the tiles and then they quickly caught the Sarutobi and binded him.

"It looks like you have been caught, sensei." Orochimaru chuckled.

"Ninpou Kuchiyose: Monkey King Enma!" Sarutobi yells and then the monkey king Enma appears.

'What a nuisance.' Orochimaru thought.

"Orochimaru...so it's come to this after all." Enma said as he looked at Orochimaru before turning to look at his master, "You're pathetic, you know that Sarutobi. This is all because you couldn't kill him when you had the chance." Enma said, berating Sarutobi.

"Urusai Enma. I don't need any of your smart comments. Just get me out of here using the Kongou-nyoi so we can finish this!" Sarutobi said.

"About time. Henge!" Enma said and then transformed into a large black staff and broke the branches that were holding Sarutobi down and then Sarutobi grabbed the staff.

'This level of ninjutsu...this is truly what it means to be at Hokage-level.' The anbu leader thought.

'Ha, this is finally starting to become interesting.' Orochimaru thought and then a snake rose from his mouth and then it opened it's mouth and a sword came out which Orochimaru grabbed.

'It's the Kusanagi...' Sarutobi thought, "Here we go Enma!" Sarutobi said

"Even in my Kongou-nyoi form, the Kusanagi blade is going to be sore, man." Enma said.

Sarutobi nodded and then jumped down toward his opponents and quickly kicked both former Hokages in the face, sending them flying and then swung his staff down at Orochimaru who used his sword to block. The two then exchanged blows and then Orochimaru dodge one of the Sarutobi's attacks and swings his sword horizontally but the Sarutobi ducked and then put his staff down and kicked Orochimaru under the chin with both his feet. He then extends his staff, knocking Orochimaru back with a strike to the stomach. Then, he is kicked from behind by both the Hokages, and Orochimaru then uses his Seiaijasu technique to grab the Sarutobi and pull him back so he could punch him hard in the face, and send him flying back.

"It's too bad you didn't think to use any shadow clones or else you might have a chance." Orochimaru said as he licked his blade.

'No, it's not that he didn't it, it's more like he can't. It's different than before, his chakra levels are not the same as they used to be and to use the Kagebushin, which require massive chakra, would be a waste of his remaining chakra. It's just that he's gotten too old now.' The anbu leader thought.

"What's wrong Sarutobi? This isn't like you..." Enma said.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Please don't disappoint much, you were known as the Professor, the shinobi who had mastered all of the leaf village's techniques after all." Orochimaru said.

Suddenly explosions took place on the leg of each former Hokage, taking out their leg.

'I see. So when he was kicked, he placed these tags on their leg. But as you can see, it's quite useless.' Orochimau thought as he realized what had happened.

The leg that were blown off however, quickly regenerated.

'Just as I thought...I must do something about the souls that are trapped by the Edo Tensei. It's no use, it would seem...' Sarutobi thought.

"Your breath seems to be rather quickening, you know." Orochimaru said.

'It seems I'll have no choice but to use the Yondaime's technique.' Sarutobi thought.

"Well now, what will you do?" Orochimaru asked.

"The Jutsu exchanges stop here. From here on out, it's going to be a blood-drenched free-for-all, just like a shinobi battle is supposed to be!" Sarutobi said with a smirk

'Edo-tensei...even if I kill Orochimaru, the jutsu will not disperse. In which case, please forgive me Shodai-sama, Nidaime-sama. I will have to use this technique.' Sarutobi thought as he then put his hands together.

"You've grown old, haven't you? I've never seen you strain so much. Ha, ha, ha, ha." Orochimaru chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Sarutobi asked.

"It's just so pitiful. Even you, who was hailed as the Shinobi No Kami, cannot defeat old age." Orochimaru said and then proceeded his face, revealing a young female face underneath, surprising everyone.

"Huh? What is that? What's going on?" The younger anbu asked.

"Who is that...that young one?" The anbu leader also asked.

"Who the devil are you?" Sarutobi asked.

"Are you in much shock that you can't figure it out...it's me, Orochimaru." Orochimaru said.

"So, it seems that you even completed that kinjutsu." Sarutobi said.

"It's been ten years since I left this village..I suffered quite a bit." Orochimaru said.

"You inhuman creature...This is exactly why I could never elect as the Yondaime Hokage. If I did, then that twisted ideology of yours would destroyed everything." Sarutobi said.

"Now now, I wouldn't call my ideology twisted, more like revolutionary. After all, all I want is to gain mastery of all techniques that exist in this world and create more and more and the only way I can do is by becoming immortal. I honestly don't see what's so wrong about it all. Besides, people have done much worse than I for reasons even more selfish than mine." Orochimaru said, and then continued, "The immortality jutsu I created is a spell where you anchor your spirit to this world forever. It basically allows one to enter a new body with their spirit and gain possession of it. The reason why I came with my old face is because I thought I'd let you feel nostalgic about the past. To grow, how desitute it is and I can feel it deeply just by watching you. You will die here and I will obtain a stronger, more beautiful body. The leaf has entertained me to no end." Orochimaru said.

"I see...so that new body of yours is Uchiha Sasuke huh? Hmm, too bad you will never have him." Sarutobi said.

"Oh and why is that? Do you really think that fool Kyo will stop my ambition? That boy's body and his bloodline limit will become mine!" Orochimaru said.

"Kyo isn't the one that will stop you, it's destiny that will! His destiny is something much greater than your ambitions and is needed for this world." Sarutobi replied.

"Only a fool would believe in destiny but I guess this is what happens once we grow old. Since I will kill you, I believe my old face is more appropriate, don't you think?" Orochimaru said as he reverted back to his old face.

"I will kill you and correct my mistake, even if I die!" Sarutobi yelled out.

"Then die you shall, old fool!" Orochimaru barked back.

"Kage Bushin No Jutsu!" Sarutobi said and created two other copies.

'What the? Why is he using Kagebushin?' The anbu leader asked.

"Ha, you've really grown old. To shorten your life because of your impatience." Orochimaru said.

"Are you really going to use that technique?" Enma asked in surprise

Then the Sarutobi started went through a series of seals, and then the spirit of the shinigami appeared behind him.

'So, this is the spirit of the shinigami that only the caster can see.' Sarutobi thought as he saw the spirit.

"It's already too late! No matter what you do, the leaf will be demolished!" Orochimaru said.

"It won't be easy for you for you see, the leaf village is my home and I, as the Hokage, is its protector and the one who carries the will of the leaf!" Sarutobi replied.

"Genjutsu: Kokuangyo No Jutsu (Bringer of Darkness)" Shodai said and then the whole field was covered in pure darkness and then, Sarutobi started to get attacked.

"What absurd nonsense! You're not its protector but only, for a short while, the leader of an organization called the Leaf. Even the remains of the rock portrait will eventually crumble and fade." Orochimaru said, taunting Sarutobi.

"Hmph. To me, the leaf isn't just an organization. Every year, there are alot of shinobies born and raised in this village. They live, they fight to protect this village and everything that is precious to them and are willing to die for them. Even if we are not related by blood, those of the village like these to me are..." Sarutobi said and then images of everyone that has lived in the village, including the current rookies, began to appear in his mind, "Are my family!" Sarutobi said, finishing what he was saying.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha. Well then, I'll just have to break you in half, the main pillar that is, and then destroy the house, the leaf." Orochimaru laughed.

"Even if you break me, the beam will never fall! I am the man who inherited the will of the Shodai and Nidaime Hokage! I am the Sandaime Hokage! No matter how much you target the leaf village, there will always be a new Hokage who'll inherit my will and become the pillar to protect the house of the leaf! Now, let me show you a technique that not even you know about! Take this! Fuuin Jutsu: Shiki Fuuin (Enchantmen Spell: Dead Demon Imprisonment)!" Sarutobi said.

'A technique I don't know about?" Orochimaru repeated.

'I must hurry! This darkness is becoming dangerous..' Sarutobi thought as he saw the shinigami spirit moved its arms.

"Please show me this so-called jutsu of yours, if you can that is!" Orochimaru said.

Then, the Sarutobi started to be attacked and then was slashed and fell to the ground.

"What's the matter? Do you intend to let the former Hokages kill you bit by bit as they toy with you. Please hurry and show me that jutsu." Orochimaru said.

'How much longer will it take?' Sarutobi thought as he clutched his bloodied arm.

Then, the shinigami moved its left arm and marks began to appear on it. It then plunged its arm into the stomach of the spirit of the caster, and Sarutobi felt it as well.

'Looks it made it on time.' Sarutobi thought

"What's wrong? You look rather unsteady on your feet?" Orochimaru asked.

"Shi...what in the hell is going in there?" The anbu leader asked.

'Now, all I have to do is catch them!' Sarutobi thought and his clones started to run around. They then held on to something despite being struck multiple times.

'I'm not letting you go!' One of the clones thought, "Come forth!" That clone said.

Then, the hand of the shinigami go through the clones and grabbed on to what it was grabbing, causing the darkness to fade away. When it fades, the clones had captured the two former Hokages.

'The darkness faded...what is this jutsu?' Orochimaru thought

"Sarutobi!" Enma said.

"Gomen, Sarutobi." The Shodai Hokage said.

"We've caused you so much trouble." The Nidaime Hokage added.

"Please forgive me, Shodai-sama, Nidaime-sama." Sarutobi said, and then the hand of the Shinigami each ripped their souls and sealed it into the clones. The bodies then turned to dust, revealing Zaku and Kin.

"You monster! You used your subordinates to do this jutsu!" Sarutobi said.

"Like I care what you say, old man." Orochimaru smirked.

"Extend Enma!" Sarutobi said and then the staff extended itself to strike Orochimaru but Orochimaru was able to avoid it but then Sarutobi quickly appeared in front and grabbed both of his arms

"This is the end!" Sarutobi said, and then the Shinigami arm went through Sarutobi and into Orochimaru.

'W...what's going on here! This is bad...' Orochimaru thought as he felt the arm of the shinigami inside him.

"Die!" Sarutobi and Orochimaru yelled and as Sarutobi was pulling Orochimaru's soul out, Orochimaru was able to send his Kusanagi straight into the chest of Sarutobi.

"Damn it!" Enma said as he was able to catch some of the sword but was unable to stop most of it from piercing Sarutobi.

"Why didn't you avoid it?" Orochimaru asked.

"Because it would be useless. In exchange for this jutsu, the caster must pay with his life. Once this technique is completely, my soul will be consumed as well. And besides, I was destined to die right here so I might as well go out with a bang, don't you think Orochimaru?" Sarutobi grinned.

"What are you talking about?" Orochimaru exclaimed.

"I don't have time to explain to you, my foolish student. By now, you should be able to see it as well, you soul is about hafway out too. With this jutsu, the soul of the one who was sealed will suffere for all eternity in the belly of death, never gaining release, and also, the soul of the one who was captured and the soul of the one who performed the seal will mingle together, locked in eternal combat." Sarutobi said.

"Huh? What is that?" Orochimaru asked as he saw the shinigami spirit and the cries of the souls that are trapped in it. The shinigami then takes the knife from its mouth and cuts the spirits and ate them.

"Don't be foolish you old fart! I don't care if it's your destiny to die, I will not allow you to kill me like this!" Orochimaru yelled and then started to do movements with his fingers and as he did, the sword started to move further into his body, "Hurry up and die already, you old fart." Orochimaru grinned.

Meanwhile, back in Konoha, more giant snakes were attacking through the city

"We can't handle this!" Ibiki said.

Then, a giant frog falls from the sky and crushes the snakes

"This jutsu...it's!" Ibiki said.

"Long time no see, Ibiki. Is your body the only thing that grew up? I can't stand watching you" Jiraiya said on top of the frog.

"Jiraiya-sama." Ibiki said.

"Jiraiya? You mean, of the Sannin?" One of the jounins asked.

"Little chikadees! Open them small eyes of yours as wide as you can so you can take a good look! Blessed be!! It's the twilight zone flight of rampage! By Jiraiya! The Alien Sage Ninja! All you snakes, frozen in your tracks by the glare of a frog!" Jiraiya yelled.

'So, he's finally made his move, Orochimaru.' Jiraiya thought.

"Oy, Jiraiya." Kyo said as he met Jiraiya on top of the frog.

"So I guess the wheels of history have finally started to move, huh Kyo?" Jiraiya asked.

'Yes it would seem. The old man is fighting that snake as we speak and you know what will happen, right?" Kyo asked.

"Yes I do...I just wished that I could do something to help. Despite a rocky relationship, he is still my sensei." Jiraiya said.

"You already did help...you trained the future leader of this world, who is also fighting his own battle. Besides, the snake will get what's coming to him eventually." Kyo replied.

"I see." Jiraiya said. 'You better not die on me, kid.' Jiraiya thought.

"Ibiki-san, who is that man? He looks like a Uchiha." One of the jounins asked.

"I really have no clue myself." Ibiki said as he and the other jounins saw Kyo.

(Title of the fight: Dance of the Mistresses; Ten-Ten vs Temari)

"Now, let's play a little melody." Ten-Ten said and then sat down on one leg, and started to play on her instrumement

"THIS ISN'T THE TIME TO PLAY SOME MUSIC!" Temari yelled.

"So naive." Ten-Ten said, and then swipe her hand on the strings, and suddenly, swords were shot from the instrument toward Temari at high speed.

"What the hell?" Temari asked as she dodged the swords.

"Not bad, but let's try this again!" Ten-Ten smirked and did it again and this time, the sword went up in the air, and broke into multiple pieces, all falling toward the ground at high speed like a rain.

'There's too many and they're all fast!' Temari thought as she saw them coming and put up both her fans up to protect her, and the small blades ended up cutting her up, not too fatally, 'That girl, she was able to improve that much in just one month? But that's impossible!' Temari thought. "I don't know what you did, but I won't lose to someone like you! Ninpou Kamaitachi!" Temari said and unleashed her attack.

"Useless!" Ten-Ten said and then create a bushin who then held the harp vertically so that Ten-Ten can then play on the strings, which create an unknown force that dispells Temari's jutsu.

"Nani? My technique was blocked!" Temari exclaimed in disbelief.

"Of course. My instrument, Deadly Melody, has the ability to turn sound into a weapon itself by infusing it with my chakra. Thus, I can shoot weapons from it by molding the sound into chakra or block it any attack with by infusing sound waves with my chakra to create an invisible force that breaks down the attack. It has the perfect offense and defense." Ten-Ten explained.

'However, despite all that she said, she still has to react to my attack in order to use it to its fullest which means I'll have no choice but to pressure her into a mistake. Hmm, sounds like fun!' Temari smirked mentally. "Let's dance, Ten-Ten!" Temari said and opened her fans.

"Sure!" Ten-Ten said and then brought her instrument back on her leg and started to send weapons at Temari.

"Kaze No Mai (Dance of the Wind)!" Temari said and as she started to walk forward, she started to wave her fans, causing wind to shoot from them and counter the weapons and thus a contest between weapons and wind started to erupt, cutting up alot of surrounding places and both increased the pace of their dances.

"Dancing Blades!" Temari yelled as she jumped up and then unleashed a flurry of sickling attacks at Ten-Ten who then uses her instrument to block them and send them back at Temari. Temari is struck by her own attack, only to turn into a log.

"You're mine! Kamaitachi!" Temari yelled out as she swung her attack from behind Ten-Ten. The attack strucked Ten-Ten who then poofed into smoke. Before Temari could say anything, she was struck by an immense powerful force that smacked her into a building.

"H...how?" Temari asked as she found herself herself bloodied and unable to get back up.

"You were so focused on my instrument that you didn't notice that I exchanged places with my clone, and hid on top of another building, waiting for a chance to attack you." Ten-Ten explained as she came down from the roof of the house across and pointed her instrument to Temari, "I win this time." Ten-Ten said.

(Title Fight: Theatre of Bugs and Puppets; Shino vs Kankurou)

"Kugutsu No Jutsu (Puppet Control Technique)" Kankurou says and then his puppet unravels it from the bandages and chakra strings are seen on each of Kankurou's fingers.

'So this is how he controls it.' Shino thought.

"Let's do this! Dark Hand Festival!" Kankurou said and then Karasu threw a flurry of punches with a dagger at each end of his hand.

'Those daggers are poisoned!' Shino realized as he dodged them and saw the poison leaking on the ground.

"Kikai Shigure (Bug Rain)" Shino said and then a cloud of bug falls from the air toward Kankurou who is able to move out of the way to avoid.

'This isn't good. I have to get away from those bugs or else they'll eat my chakra!' Kankurou thought.

"Flying Daggers!" Kankurou said and then kunais were shot from Karasu's mouth toward Shino, who was struck by them but then dissolved into bugs.

'A Kikai bushin?' Kankurou thought.

"Tsuin Kikai Shuuren (Twin Bug Drill)!" Shino said and then two waves of bugs came straight for Kankurou who dodged out of the way.

"Not bad! You used your insects to create a clone and tried to attack my blind spot." Kankurou said.

"You're a long-distance type fighter so it's obvious you have weak close-range skills because you need to concentrate when you use your justsu so thus it leaves you wide open." Shino explained.

"I see you understand the weaknesses of specialist-type shinobies but I'll show you how this is used in a real fight by showing you the terror of Karasu!" Kankurou said and then Karasu's left arm opened up to reveal a purple ball hidden in a hole that is then fired from and when it hits, it create a purple gas.

'This is a poison gas bomb!' I already inhaled some of it.' Shino thought as he got away from it and landed in on top of another rooftop. He looks up and sees that Kankurou has disappeared.

"I see. So he used that bomb to help him hide into the shadows so he can prepare for his next attack." Shino observed.

Then, Karasu silently appears behind him and swipes it's poison dagger at him only for Shino to turn into a bug clone. Suddenly, Karasu was covered in bugs.

'Damn it, I can't move Karasu any more. He used his puppets to jam the puppet's joints.' Kankurou thought from his hiding place which in an alley nearby.

'That was too close for comfort.' Shino thought as he was unleashing the bugs from his arm from below the rooftop.

'Damn it, at this rate, they'll my chakra strings and then head straight for me, thus revealing my position and eating my chakra!' Kankurou realized mentally and then cut off the strings causing Karasu to fall into pieces.

'He actually cuts the strings?' Shino thought.

'Heh, you're too careless. You thought that by me cutting my strings, I wouldn't be able to use my puppet but for a specialist like myself, disconnecting and reconnecting the strings to my puppet is a piece of cake. I don't even need Karasu's whole body, every piece of him is a weapon.' Kankurou smirked mentally as the head of Karasu was flying toward Shino, with a poisoned dagger in its mouth, 'Even this small dagger still full of poison so you're dead.' Kankurou added.

The head flew toward Shino but then stopped near his face and then fell off.

'What the? What's going on?' Kankurou asked mentally and then saw bugs on his fingers, 'When did these insects get to me? The Kugutsu strings have been eaten them...' Kankurou thought, and then yelled in pain and walked out of the alley before falling to the ground.

"When did these things get on me?' Kankurou asked as he tried to get the bugs off him.

"The ones that were attacking your Kugust strings were only a diversion and while you were trying to get rid of those, you didn't realize there was one on your back which I used to direct the others toward you." Shino said.

"What? But when?" Kankurou asked.

"Come on, isn't that obvious. When I first attacked while you were talking with your sister, I purposely left one bug on you." Shino explained and then Kankurou reminisced of that very moment.

"But that doesn't explain how you were able to find me with just one bug!" Kankurou countered.

"Listen closely because I hate repeating the same thing twice. You see, that bug was a female bug and thus they leave a very distinct odor that only the males of that same species can smell and thus track. Do you know understand?" Shino asked.

"AHHHHHH!" Kankurou yelled as the bigs had taken over him completely.

'Damn that poison gas. Looks like I'm done for now.' Shino thought and then slumped to the ground.

"Sugoi Shinji-san. Not many would have able to dodge that attack." Ryu said as Shinji was able to jump back to avoid the kodachi, though he did get scratched in the neck.

"That technique, it allows you to move at high speed from one shadow to another doesn't it?" Shinji asked.

"Yep it does and you're the first to ever escape its first attack. I am very impressed, no wonder you're the leader of the Swordsman of the Mist." Ryu said.

"Wait? How do you know?" Shinji asked.

'We're heard rumors of a brand new Swordsman of the Mist group but we didn't really believe in it until we saw you, and I must say the rumors are not lying about your skill. However, you're still no match for me." Ryu said as he got into his stance.

"Is that so? Well then that makes two of us because I don't see you beating me as well." Shinji replied with a smirk.

"Kage Hishun: Kage Shunsatsu (Shadow Flying Flash: Shadow Instant Death)" Ryu yells out.

"Hirameki (Flash)!" Shinji yelled as well.

To Be Continued...

Hey there everyone, it's me Shinji! Man oh man, I expected to only watch the chuunin exam, not to fight in a deathmatch but here I am fighting Ryu of the Shadow Flash who can move at high speeds through shadows. How fair is that? And my nakama are also fighting battles to the death but we're not going to give up because we have too much at stake and we will defeat those guys and return to the Mist Village so watch as we show those guys why me and the guys why we are Swordsman of the Mist and why Haku is the Mizukage! And also, there's gonna be a huge surprise in the fight between Naruto and Gaara so you better not miss the next chapter of Namikaze Hokage!

Next chapter: The Rise of the Mist and Fall of the Leaf.

As always, read and review. Oh more thing, do you guys want me to do each of the Swordsmans' fight individually or all together in one chapter? Let me know through your reviews ASAP! I will wait until Wednesday before I tally the results and get started.


	17. Victory and Defeat

AN: As always, Naruto does not belong to me but rather Kishimoto Masashi. The Band of Souls (Ryu, Kome, Nina, and Rai) all belong to Dragon and Sword Master and Izoa belongs to IzoaSogai. Only Shinji and the original techniques for all characters belong to me.

So anyway, sorry for the delay, I was down with food poisoining so I was not really at a hundred percent so sorry about the delay but at long last, here is chapter 16, which ends the fights between both swordsman groups and goes back to the Naruto and Gaara fight, just like I promised. Enjoy!

'What the? What's going on?' Kankurou asked mentally and then saw bugs on his fingers, 'When did these insects get to me? The Kugutsu strings have been eaten them...' Kankurou thought, and then yelled in pain and walked out of the alley before falling to the ground.

"When did these things get on me?' Kankurou asked as he tried to get the bugs off him.

"The ones that were attacking your Kugustu strings were only a diversion and while you were trying to get rid of those, you didn't realize there was one on your back which I used to direct the others toward you." Shino said.

"What? But when?" Kankurou asked.

"Come on, isn't that obvious. When I first attacked while you were talking with your sister, I purposely left one bug on you." Shino explained and then Kankurou reminisced of that very moment.

"But that doesn't explain how you were able to find me with just one bug!" Kankurou countered.

"Listen closely because I hate repeating the same thing twice. You see, that bug was a female bug and thus they leave a very distinct odor that only the males of that same species can smell and thus track. Do you know understand?" Shino asked.

"AHHHHHH!" Kankurou yelled as the bigs had taken over him completely.

'Damn that poison gas. Looks like I'm done for now.' Shino thought and then slumped to the ground.

"Sugoi Shinji-san. Not many would have able to dodge that attack." Ryu said as Shinji was able to jump back to avoid the kodachi, though he did get scratched in the neck.

"That technique, it allows you to move at high speed from one shadow to another doesn't it?" Shinji asked.

"Yep it does and you're the first to ever escape its first attack. I am very impressed, no wonder you're the leader of the Swordsman of the Mist." Ryu said.

"Wait? How do you know?" Shinji asked.

'We're heard rumors of a brand new Swordsman of the Mist group but we didn't really believe in it until we saw you, and I must say the rumors are not lying about your skill. However, you and you friends still no match for us." Ryu said as he got into his stance.

"Is that so? Well then that makes two of us because I don't see you or any of your comrades beating us as well." Shinji replied with a smirk.

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 17: Victory and Defeat

(Haku vs Nina Finale)

Nina and Haku were exchanging blows as Nina was using her dagger while Haku was using her needles.

'Damn this girl is tougher than she looks!' Nina thought as she was put on the defensive before being knocked back by a roundhouse kick.

"Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suishou!" Haku yelled out and then created water needles that flew toward the downed Nina who dodged out of the way.

"Why don't you just give up? Your flames are now useless against me and I would hate to have to take the life of another human being." Haku said.

"Get real! There's no way I'm giving up now! Besides, this is way too much fun! Hi Kuchiyose! Hi Yoroi (Fire Summoning: Fire Armor)!" Nina said and then flames engulfed her arms and legs and turned into gauntlets and grieves.

"Nani?" Haku asked.

"Hiha (Fire Wave)!" Nina said and then fires a huge wave of fire toward Haku who quickly through went through her own seals.

"Hyoha (Ice Wave)!" Haku said and retaliated with her own ice wave. But when both attacks collided, Haku's attack was overpowered and Haku quickly created a ice mirror in the sky in order to avoid the attack.

'What was that? That flame was much stronger than her previous one and also a different color, like it was redder than before.' Haku wondered as she hid inside her mirror.

"So how you do you like my hell flame? It's three times stronger than my normal flames and thus cannot be frozen by the level of your ice attacks. But I see you've hidden behind those mirrors of yours, huh? Well, let me give you some company! Hi Kuchiyose: Youkai No Hi ("Fire Summoning: Warrior of the Flame)!" Nina said and then a demon covered in flames and red eyes appeared next to her.

"Go smash that mirror now!" Nina ordered and the demon nodded and flew directly for the mirror and broke into it but not before Haku created other mirrors.

"More mirrors! Ha, I never knew you were so much of a coward Haku, but if you want to play by numbers, then I'll be more than happy to oblige! Multiply!" Nina said and then the demons multipled into several copies of itself.

"This is bad, I have to finish them quickly! Hyoton: Makyou Hyoinsei (Ice Release: Demonic Ice Meteors)!" Haku said and then unleashed huge ice needles from her mirrors at Nina.

"Too weak. Katon: Hi Atsusa Ha (Fire Release: Fire Heat Wave)" Nina said and then heat emitted from her body and then melted Haku's attack easily.

"Okay my fellow minions! Let's destroy all but the mirror farthest to the right! Katon: Kaen Ryuu Matsuri (Fire Release: Flame Dragon Festival)!" Nina said and then all of her minions unleashed a flaming dragon from their mouths, and destroyed all of the mirrors except for the one she mentioned.

'So I was right. If I had hit the mirror she was in, she would have created another mirror to hide in.' Nina smirked mentally as she figured out Haku's strategy.

"Phoenix Whip!" Nina said and then materializes a whip of flame which she then lashed out at the mirror. It goes through and grabs Haku and pulls her back down to the roof hard.

"Thought you could hide all day in your mirrors? That just won't do against me, Haku-chan. Now, lay still while I end this little fight of yours!" Nina said as she advanced toward the downed Haku, who then smirked.

"What's so funny?" Nina asked angrily.

"I wasn't just using my ice mirrors to hide. I was truly using them as a decoy in order to prepare for my real attack." Haku smirked.

"What?! No way, you're bluffing!" Nina said as she was taken aback by what Haku said.

"If you don't believe me, then why don't you look around you?" Haku asked.

Nina did just that and her eyes widened in shock was she was surrounded to her left, right, and back by ice mirrors.

'So she was using the whole ice mirrors as a decoy! By keeping me preoccupied on her, she led me to believe that the ice mirrors in front of me we're the only ones that she had created. That devious bitch.' Nina thought.

"But wait a minute? How the heck where you able to create them without me noticing? I should have seen a sign or something." Nina asked.

"It's simple. My kekkai genkai allows me to have total control over water and wind and tell me, what's predominant in the air?" Haku asked.

"Water and wind." Nina answered.

"Exactly and thus I was able to use them to create my mirrors without a need for a seal." Haku explained.

"But that still won't help you! In case you've forgotten, your ice attacks are totally useless against my red flames, my hottest flames!" Nina said.

"You're very wrong about that. Hyoton: Hyo Kago (Ice Release: Ice Cage)!" Haku said and then the mirrors emit an air of ice that forms a triangle and trap Nina within.

"This technique is my strongest for the simple reason that once something or someone is inside that cage, they lose all heat. Basically, the temperature of this cage is absolute zero, a place where heat cannot exist." Haku explained.

"Impossible!" Nina yelled as her flames grieves and gauntlets and her summons all disappear. She tried to make more fire but she was unable to do so, and eventually, the ice overtook, causing her to freeze up. Haku then releases the attack and Nina was on the ground, with ice all over her.

"How...can this...be? How can you be so...so strong?" Nina asked, teetering.

"That's simple. It's because I am the Godaime Mizukage, and also, I have the strength of my nakama and hence why I never fight alone, something you cannot understand." Haku explained.

"The Godaime...Mizukage? Hmm...then no wonder I lost, but you're wrong about the last thing you said. Me and my nakama are very close, we're like family and we always help each other out. In fact, it's the only people that have treated me like a...true person." Nina said and then falls unconscious.

"Shinji-kun...I hope you guys are okay." Haku said as she looked over to see the others fight.

(Izoa vs Kome Finale)

Both fighters were fighting widly as Izoa was swinging his sword widly while Kome was countering with his wolf claws and then both knocked each other back.

" You're pretty tough for a human." Kome said.

"And you're not so bad for a mutt." Izoa replied.

"What did you just call me?" Kome growled.

"A mutt. You have a problem with that?" Izoa asked.

"Of course I do, baka ningen! I'm a wolf hanyou, not a mutt hanyou and wolves are the strongest canines in the world. To call me a mutt is particularly insulting and for that, I demand an apology!" Kome said.

"An apology? Like I would ever lower myself into doing such a stupid action in a fight. Besides, instead of asking an apology, you should keep your guard up for what I am about to do." Izoa said.

"Nani?" Kome asked.

"Niken (two swords)" Izoa said and then his hand actually goes inside his sword and then pulls out another one, which had a blue bar in the middle.

'So that's how he was able to pull another sword.' Kome thought.

"Nigiri (Two Slash)!" Izoa yelled out and then dashed toward Kome and swung both swords horizontally, but Kome was able to jump upward to avoid it.

"Buster Wave!" Izoa yelled and then chakra filled the blue bar in the second sword which then unleashed a powerful slicing wave toward Kome.

"Rougakyaku!" Kome replied and then countered with his own slicing wave attack, canceling out their attacks.

"Sho Setsudanki (Rising Guillotine)!" Izoa said as he flew toward Kome and swung his first sword upward in trying to cut the hanyou in two but Kome was able to move out of the way to dodge it.

"Wolf Claw!" Kome said and was started up his attack.

"Suiton: Suiryuudan No Jutsu!" Izoa said and countered Kome's attack with a dragon-headed water blast.

'How is he able to use water attacks where there is no water?' Kome thought as he was smacked into the ground by the attack.

"Ni Zantenha Nadare (Double Cutting Rising Heaven Avalanche)!" Izoa yelled out and swung his sword rapidly, each shooting multiple slicing waves toward where Kome landed.

Izoa then landed on the ground and seconds later, Kome rose up, a bit injured from the onslaught.

"And here I thought I had finished you." Izoa smirked.

"Now it's my turn. Roushiki (Wolf Stance)..." Kome started to say.

"Roushiki?" Izoa asked.

"Roushiki: Sit boy." Kome said and then sat down like a dog would be.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING NOW?" Izoa asked angrily.

"What does it look like? I am going to use one of my many stances. Besides, you're forgetting that the wolf has powerful hinds and legs. But first, I must wash myself." Kome said and started to wash himself like a dog would do.

"ARE YOU EVEN TRYING TO FIGHT ANYMORE?" Izoa growled in irritation.

"Of course I am, it's just that I needed to wash myself since I haven't taken a bath for a while. Now, let's begin; Sit Boy: Wolf Bullet!" Kome said and then did his technique.

'His technique is even faster than before and even stronger.' Izoa said as he tried to block it but to no avail as he was pushed into a store nearby by the force of the attack.

"Awoo! My sit boy stance allows me to add even more power and speed into my attacks by focusing all of my strength on my legs! Sit Boy: Wolf Cannon Clutch!" Kome said and then shot upwards with his Wolf Cannon and then dived toward Izoa with his wolf clutch. Izoa rolls out of the way as Kome comes down and his Wolf Clutch technqiue ends up creating a crater on the ground.

'He isn't kidding about that stupid stance. His techniques have gotten stronger from it.' Izoa thought as he observed the changes.

"Tooboe Kaze (Howling Wind)" Kome said and then breathed in and then breathe out a gale that really didn't have any effect at all.

"What was the point of that?" Izoa asked.

"Nani? It didn't hurt at all?" Kome asked

"Not at all." Izoa said.

"Kuso! Then this means that the order has been reversed!" Kome said as he stomped the ground.

"What order?" Izoa asked.

"The order of the houses that fell from the blowing of the wolf in the story of the three little pigs. The first two houses are supposed to be blown away and the third one should be the sturdier one. In this case, my first attack should have blown you away but it seems the order has been reversed hence why my technique didn't work!" Kome explained.

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO YOURSELF?!" Izoa yelled out.

"This time, since the third house became the first, my technique will work for sure! Howling..." Kome started to say.

"This is ridiculous! Suiton: Fukai Umi Yomi (Water Release: Deep Sea Underworld)" Izoa said and then a large puddle of water covered the ground between both and dragged them into it.

'This is bad!' Kome thought as he saw Izoa starting to zip around the water and slashing him, 'He has the advantage underwater. I have to get out of here!' Kome thought and then used his wolf cannon to get out of the puddle.

"Looks like you don't like water much, huh oomaki hanyou?" Izoa asked with a smirk as he also jumped out of the puddle.

"Damn you...that look in your eyes, you're no different from those bastards!" Kome growled.

"What are you blabbering about?" Izoa asked.

"The way you smirk at me, like I'm worth nothing at all. This is the same smirk those bastards back in my clan gave me..." Kome said.

Flashback:

We see a bunch of people dressed like Kome except with more animalistic features up in a cave deep in the mountains.

"Okay guys, let's get ready for the hunt." One of them said.

"Hey guys, are you going on a hunt? Can I join?" A young Kome asked.

"You gotta be kidding. Hey guys, the stupid half-breed wants to join us on a hunt!" The wolf demon said and all of them laughed.

"Like a pathetic and worthless half-breed like you could ever join us wolf demons on a hunt!" A bald and fat wolf demon laughed.

"The fact that you're in this clan and still alive is a disgrace to us all." Another added.

"Why don't you do us a favor and drop dead!" A third one said.

"I'm not weak!" Kome said with tears coming out of his eyes and he tried to lunge at one of them only to get stomped on and then get beat on.

"Yes you are and you will always be weak, stupid half-breed! C'mon, let's go." The leader said and they left, leaving a bruised Kome on the ground

"I'll show you...I'll show you all." Kome growled.

End Flashback

"I had enough of people making fun of me only because I'm a half-breed!!!!" Izoa roared and then he suddenly started to get more muscular as his eyes turned white and his hair became spikier. Also, his shirt ripped apart, and the claws on his legs also got bigger. Finally, three gray whisker marks appeared on each cheek. He then let out a huge howl that was heard around the village.

"What the hell is that?" Suigetsu asked as he heard the howl.

"Ha, ha, ha. That's probably Kome using that form." Rai said.

"What form?" Suigetsu asked.

"It doesn't matter if I explain it to you or not, either way that Izoa guy is going to die." Rai grinned.

"You're wrong about that." Suigetsu said.

"And why's that?" Rai asked.

"It's simple. It's just that no matter who the opponent is, Izoa will never lose." Suigetsu smirked.

"What the hell is going on now?" Izoa asked shocked at what just happened.

"Now let's begin! Kyoku Ryuutsume (Extreme Wolf Claw)!" Kome roared and swung his arm and unleashed a powerful slicing wave in the form of a red claw toward Izoa.

"Gah. Can't block it!" Izoa said as he was pushed back by into a house by the attack.

"Kyoku Oomaki Kurruci (Extreme Wolf Clutch)!" Kome yelled and instantly smacked Kome to the ground hard with his wolf clutch attack.

"Wolf Bullet Festival!" Kome yelled out and then struck Izoa with multiple wolf bullets. He then grabs Izoa by his shirt.

"So, are you still going to give me that smirk, huh?" Kome asked, growling but then gets pissed when Izoa spits on his face, "Ruahhh! Wolf Stone Fist!" Kome said and then punched Izoa hard in the stomach, to the point he breaks his ribs and makes him cough out blood, and the punch sends Izoa flying through three houses.

"If you think that's all I can do, then you're wrong. This was just the appetizer! Now, here's the main course! Wolf Pack Hunt!" Kome growled and then two other Kome jumped out of his body, each looking identical to the original.

"Let's begin the massacre!" Kome said in a growling tone and then all three rushed toward Izoa and started to unleash volley of claw attacks, causing Izoa to go on the defensive with both his swords but was getting overwhelmed.

"So Izoa, do you now see the true power of a oomaki hanyou, huh? People like you that always look down on us will never understand our strength and continue to look down upon us but what you fail to realize is that it will lead you to your demise!" Kome said as he and his copies continued their assault.

"So what if you were made fun of as a kid? So what if you're a hanyou? And so what if people looked down on you? In the end, IT DOESN'T MATTER!"Izoa said, yelling the last part as he was able to knock the three Kome back with sheer strength.

'Masaka! He actually stopped my attacks! Who the hell is that guy?' Kome thought in surprise.

"All that matters in a fight to the death is whoever is stronger than the other, and hence why you will lose because I am stronger!" Izoa said.

"You still want to think like this? Fine, then I'll have just have to destroy you so that way you can realize that I'm truly stronger than you!" Kome said, and then jumped up 40 ft into the air.

"This is my most destructive wolf bullet and let me assure you that there's no way you will be able to block or dodge this one! METEOR WOLF BULLET!" Kome roared and then descended toward Izoa at high-speeds with gray chakra engulfing him in the form of a wolf.

"Baka, like I was going to block or dodge it! Ougi: OMNISLASH!" Izoa yelled and then all of Izoa's swords fly out and surround Kome. Izoa then flies towards Kome, zips around and cuts him with four of them before taking the last two and slashing Kome in the chest with both, creating a large X mark. Then, Izoa returns to the ground and all six swords fall down, all surounding him.

"This was a good fight, Kome, but in the end, the strongest win and hence I won. It's that simple." Izoa said as Kome hits the ground hard, unconscious but alive.

(Rai vs Suigetsu Finale)

"Che, this is boring. I'm going to check around to see if I can find more people to play with."Rai smirked.

"Hey dumbass, we're not quite done you and I." Suigetsu said.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about you. Please forgive me, it's just that I have a nasty habit to forget that I'm fighting an opponent when they are so weak." Rai grinned.

"Anyway, this should only take two minutes." Rai said.

"You got that right, and I'll start off by getting through that lightning defense of yours. Ryuusei Satsu!" Suigetsu grinned and then jumped up and executed his technique.

"Cut through me? It looks like you're stupider than you look, kid." Rai said and then activated his defense.

Suigetsu's attack hits the defense and Suigetsu gets shocked by the defense.

"I told you that you could never get past my defense, kid!" Rai laughed but then his eyes widened as he saw Suigetsu's blade started to get through the defense. 'Damn it, he's getting through! I have to dodge now!' Rai thought as he saw what was happening and moves out of the way before Suigetsu cuts him down.

"Daisuitai: Kusanagi!" Suigetsu said and then rushed toward Rai and slashes through his defense, leaving a large scar on his chest.

'He slashed me!' Rai thought.

"Just like I said, I'm going to get through that defense of yours All I had to do was emit chakra around my sword and then use it to deflect your lightning, since despite the fact it mimics the element, it's still chakra." Suigetsu grinned.

"So what? You think you've won just because you got through my lightning field, huh? You're even dumber than I gave you credit for, kid." Rai said and then tosses his sword away.

"What the hell? You're throwing your sword away when you're fighting a swordsman? And you call me stupid." Suigetsu said.

"That's because that while I am a swordsman, I'm a much better a prized fighter." Rai said.

"Prized fighter? So what, you fought in leagues and tournaments before?" Suigetsu asked.

"Yes, actually I did, and man those were the days. The blood, carnage, destruction as you fight your opponent in a ring, one-on-one until one of you drops dead. I started fighting at age 9, and by age 10, I already killed 50 people. By age 13, I had killed so many I lost count." Rai said as he had a grin of exhiliration on his face.

"Is this the part where I'm supposed to be scared?" Suigetsu asked.

"Oh, of course not. This is! Raiton: Arashihou (Thunder Release: Storm Cannon)" Rai said and then unleashed a large lightning ball from his mouth. Suigetsu sees it coming and cuts it down only to see Rai lunging straight at him.

"Thunder Shot!" Rai yells out and throws a right straight with his lightning-enhanced right arm, and Suigetsu blocks it but is pushed back by the blow.

'That blow of his nearly broke my sword into pieces.' Suigetsu thought as he recovered.

"Blitzkrieg!" Rai yells out and with his left arm, throws a volley of punches at Suigetsu who dodges them all and then zips into the air.

"Spinning Mist Slash!" Suigetsu yells out and comes down spinning like a wheel toward Rai. The latter grins as he saw the attack coming and then lunges at Suigetsu and grabs Suigetsu's sword, surprising him, and then then knees him in the stomach with his right knee.

"Thunder Dragon Suplex!" Rai said and then performs a suplex on Suigetsu, dropping him head first to the ground. Rai then grabs Suigetsu by the legs and then swings him around a couple of times before tossing him through a large building.

"Just to make sure you stay down for good." Rai grins and then grabs a house nearby, lifts it up with one hand and then throws it at the location where Suigetsu landed and then started to laugh.

"This carnage is just too beautiful! This is the way a battlefield is suppose to look like! Death and destruction everywhere!" Rai hollered.

"Liver, Lungs, Spine, Clavical Vein, Neck, brain, kidneys, heart. Which one should I go after?" Suigetsu said as a heavy thick mist covered their battleground.

"What the hell?" Rai asked. He then got his answer as he started to get slashed in the body from multiple directions.

"Using the mist to hide yourself? Show yourself, coward!" Rai said.

"Instead of bitching, why don't you do something about it? Besides, you're a pretty lucky guy with that steel body of yours. Most people would have already died from this attack." Suigetsu said.

"You're right, I should and it's all thanks to this body!" Rai said and then turned and took a shot straight to the ribs but instead of disemboweling him, Suigetsu's sword just stops.

'What the hell? Why can't my sword cut deeper? Is his body that hard to cut down?' Suigetsu thought.

"This body of mine has been perfected through hard training and and even harsher battles over the years. It is the body perfected for extreme fighting and hence why it will never be cut down by weaklings like you! Thunder Hammer!" Rai said and then lightning engulfed both his fists and he smacks both fists on each side of Suigetsu's torso, crushing his ribs and electrocuting him, causing him to yell out in pain.

"Thunder Shotgun!" Rai yelled out and then blasted Suigetsu away by punching him with both electric fists at the same time.

"I'm not through with you yet! Flying Double Pressure!" Rai says and then dives toward the fallen Suigetsu and knees him hard in the chest with both knees, forcing him to cough out blood.

"Double Blitzkrieg!" Rai said and then performed his Blitzkrieg technique with both hands, crushing Suigetsu further into the ground.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! You really are too weak to beat me!" Rai hollered but then gets booted in the face by Suigetsu and is knocked back by the blow.

"You still want some more? That's fine, I'll be more than happy to oblige!" Rai said.

"Earlier, you said that we were the strongest in each of our groups in terms of physical strength, right?" Suigetsu asked.

"Yeah I did. So?" Rai asked, not understanding the need for such a question.

"Well then if that's the case, then let's play a little game I like to call beatdown." Suigetsu said with a grin.

"And how do we play this game?" Rai asked, now interested.

"Simple. We fight against each other pound for pound, no jutsus, just using either your best weapon or your fists. The first one to die or get knocked out loses the game." Suigetsu explained.

"So basically, it's whoever can take the bigger beating huh? You mist shinobis are really crazy sometimes but this game sounds like fun so let's play it!" Rai said.

The two then dashed toward with bloodthirsty looks on their faces as they collided and started to beat wildly on each other.

'If we keep this up, then I'll lose for sure thanks to those sword slashes I keep taking!' Rai thought as the game continued. He then sees Suigetsu's attack coming and catches with his left hand.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Suigetu asked angrily

"Sorry kid, it was fun but if there's one thing I hate to do is lose! Thunder Shock!" Rai said and then generate a large amount of electricity around his right arm and punched the ground with it, and a large wave of lightning erupts from the ground, engulfing Suigetsu, causing the boy to yell out in pain from the shock. When the attack stopped, Suigetsu was fried up and fell to the ground.

"This should have ended this fight." Rai said as he breathed heavily and then turned around and started to walk away.

"Yaro..." Suigetsu said as he started to get back up, stopping Rai dead in his tracks.

'He's still alive after taking that attack?' Rai thought.

"You and I may be very strong and bloodthirsty but if there's one thing you and I have in contrast is that I have honor while you don't!" Suigetsu said.

"Honor? Don't speak such bullshit. In the battlefield, there's no place for honor, ONLY POWER!" Rai replied and then threw a right straight only for Suigetsu to catch it, surprising Rai who tries to free himself from Suigetsu's grip only for the latter to break his arm, causing him to yell in pain.

"Let's see if your body can take this! Daisuitai: Daiatsu Ha (Great Water Body: Great Pressure Wave)!" Suigetsu yelled and then swung his sword and unleashed a powerful gale that sends Rai flying into one of the tallest buildings in Konoha, which effectively knocks him out.

"Who's the strongest now, motherfucker?" Suigetsu says with a grin but then falls to the ground unconscious

(Ryu vs Shinji Finale)

"Kage Hushin: Kage Shunsatsu!" Ryu yelled out.

"Hirameki (Flash)!" Shinji yelled out.

Ryu disappeared into his own shadow and quickly reappeared in Shinji's sword with a thrusting motion but Shinji was ready and countered with his own horizontal slash, causing a collision.

'He was able to counter my Kage Shunsatsu?' Ryu thought.

"You look suprised, as if you did not expect me to counter that technique of yours. It's not hard when you think about it really because all you are doing is moving at high speed from your shadow to my shadow. The only flaw in your technique is that when you reappear, there's a small delay which is more than enough for me to react to your attack." Shinji explained.

'He's right. Because of my high speed movement, I need to have time to regain control of my normal movement before attacking the victim.' Ryu thought.

"So what?" Ryu smirked and then did his attack but this time from behind Shinji but Shinji was ready and blocked it with his sword in one hand and then used his other hand to grab Ryu and toss him a few feet.

As Ryu was flying, he tossed his kodachi toward Shinji

"Kage Hishun: Himuseiga (Flying Silent Fang)" Ryu said, and then disappeared in mid-air and then reappeared from Shinji's shadow and grabbed his kodachi and started to stab mutliple times at Shinji who is able to block the attack.

'His attacking speed is incredible.' Shinji thought as he struggled to block them all. Ryu then disappeared again.

"The same trick won't work on me!" Shinji yelled and jumped up in the air

'If I'm in the air, then I can't create a shadow and he can't attack me!' Shinji thought

"Kage Hushin: Kage Higiri (Shadow Secret Slash)" Ryu yells out and then slashed Shinji from behind, knocking him up in the air before falling to the ground.

'How was he able to slash me?' Shinji thought in confusion

"You probably told yourself that if I'm in the air, he can't hurt me because I'm not creating a shadow right? How naive. Did you actually think you had me figured out, huh? My Kage Hishun allows me to move at high-speeds through any shadow I wish. Basically, I have total dominion over the shadows. If you didn't notice by now, the sun is starting to set, thus giving me even more shadows to walk through." Ryu explained.

"Damn you, that trick of yours is really annoying." Shinji said as he got back up.

"I don't see why you're getting back up, it's useless. There's no way you can defeat me especially since I can essentially use this whole village to my advantage." Ryu smirked.

"You're forgetting that I have a kekkai genkai and that summoning swords isn't its only ability. Watch closely as I show you more of its power. Kami No Ken Kekkai Genkai: Gen'ei No Ken (God of Blades Bloodline Limit: Vision of the Blades)" Shinji said and then closed his eyes, and his chakra emits from his body and forms eight blades that fly into the air, each with an eye in the center. Shinji then opens his eyes to reveal a kanji on each pupil.

"Koi!" Shinji said.

"As you wish. Ha!" Ryu grinned, and then disappeared again and tried to slash Shinji many times from mutiple shadows but fails as each time he does, Shinji is able to react easily.

"Kage Hishun: Kage Mugensatsu (Shadow Flying Flash: Shadow Infinity Death)!" Ryu yelled out and then flashes around Shinji multiple times slashing him at a faster speed than before but Shinji was able to block each slash.

'He's actually blocking my technique? But how was he able to keep up with my attacks?' Ryu thought.

"My turn. Shotengiri (Rising Heaven Slash)!" Shinji says and then twists his sword and rises off the ground, with his sword slashing vertically but Ryu was able to move away in time to avoid the blow.

"Going in the air was a big mistake! Soragiri (Sky Slash)!" Ryu said and then flew straight at Shinji at high-speeds and swung his kodachi.

"And you think that just because I'm in the air, I can't counter? Don't be so naive! Gyaku Getsugiri (Reverse Moon Slash)!" Shinji said and then twists his body and swings his sword, colliding with Ryu's attack.

'Such a strong attack.' Ryu thought.

Shinji's attack ended up being the stronger one and knocked Ryu into a building across.

"What's going on out there?" One of the many jounins of Konoha asked as he and others heard the noise.

"I don't know but I don't want to." Another replied.

"We should get out of here now. Ever since those two group of swordsman started to fight, they've been tearing apart the village with their demonic strength." A third one said.

"I just hope that one of them is on our side." The jounin who started the conversation said

Back to the fight, Ryu gets out of the building, his clothes dirty and marks on his body. He looked up at Shinji and glared at him before reappearing on the rooftop.

'Ever since he's started to use that jutsu from his kekkai genkai, he has been able to keep up with me which means those blades can somehow see my movements by forming a 360 degree circle to capture any movement from any side and transfer the images they capture into his eyes hence the kanji on each pupil. While it is a very annoying technique, it's not an invincible one. I'll just have to change my approach, that's all. I can still win this fight.' Ryu thought as he analyzed his predicament.

"I have to admit something Ryu-san." Shinji started to say.

"What is it?" Ryu asked.

"Out of all the opponents I have faced, you're by far the strongest. Your offensive firepower and speed are the highest I ever faced, even higher than Haku-chan who is the fastest in the Mist Village, and for that, I can no longer fight you with this sword." Shinji said and then his sword fades away.

"You're going to summon another sword?" Ryu asked.

"Yes and that sword is the highest in terms of offensive firepower and speed. Hiken Kuchiyose: Kyoumouryuutou (Fierce Dragon Sword)." Shinji said and then a katana with a black dragon engraved on it and a red hilt appears in his right hand.

"Here I come! Iai Ryuu Sattou (Drawing Dragon Rush)!" Shinji yelled out as he put his sword into a sheath and then dashed toward Ryu and then started to unleash multiple drawing slashes at Ryu who is forced into the defensive.

"Kage Hishun: Gihen Sochi (Shadow Flying Flash: Deception Step)!" Ryu said and then disappeared into his shadow again. He then reappears flying from the left of Shinji.

"It's useless! Ryuuha (Dragon Wave)!" Shinji yelled out and swung his sword upward vertically and unleashed a dragon-headed energy wave from his sword toward Ryu. But to Shinji's surprise, the wave goes through Ryu.

"An afterimage?" Shinji exclaimed.

"The Gihen Sochi basically allows me to create an afterimage but what's so different about any other afterimage is that I can actually make it do other things to confuse others while I move in for the kill. It's almost like creating a clone but less obvious and more effective." Ryu explained as he appeared behind Shinji and swung his sword, and slashed through Shinji only to to reveal itself as a log.

"Kawarini?" Ryu exclaimed.

"Ryuuha!" Shinji yelled out and then unleashed his dragon wave attack once more and this time struck Ryu full force, causing an explosion, When the smoke fades, Ryu was covered in blood and his clothes tattered.

"K...kuso." Ryu cursed as he tried to get back up from his injuries.

"It's best for you to stay down. If you keep going, you will die. Besides, all of your friends have been defeated." Shinji warned.

"Sorry, but I have my pride as a Swordsman and for that, I cannot back down. Besides, what kind of nakama would I be if I give up in the face of death!" Ryu smirked

"Stop it with the foolishness! Why keep fighting if all you're doing is throwing away your life!" Shinji yelled.

"I think you got it wrong, Shinji-san. The reason why I'm still fighting is because I know that I'm not going to die, you are!" Ryu said.

"Nani?" Shinji growled.

"It's been fun Shinji, but I'm going to end it with this skill." Ryu said and his eyes turned white. "Kage Mugensatsu." Ryu said, and then disappeared into his own shadow and reappeared behind Shinji in a mere instant, and then cuts appeared on Shinji's arms, legs, and chest.

'What the hell just happened? It was the same technique he used before but this time, I couldn't even notice when he did it. It all happened too fast.' Shinji thought as he was able to still stand up.

"You must be wondering what happened, huh? This Kage Hishun is my fastest. I call it Tossa Shinkan Bachi (Instant Silence Retribution). Basically, it allows me to me at extreme speeds, as fast as someone who is using the gates but without the restraints, thus allowing me to fight at high-speed as long as I want and the victim can never see it coming until it's too late like you just did. The only drawback to this technique is that it cuts my accuracy in half so it takes longer for the victim to die, hence the retribution in the name of the technique. My clan's kekkai genkai, Musei Hirameki (Silent Flash), allows us to move at speeds that would unbearable to some and do it all the time." Ryu explained.

"But I thought your Kage Hishun was your kekkai genkai?" Shinji asked as he was beathing heavily.

"The Kage Hishun is a technique we invented to further improve our kekkai genkai. And as you've experienced just now, this combination is the reason why we were once known as the masters of instant killing because our opponents would never what would happen to them until their heads fell over instantly. Your blades are now useless against me and there's no way you can keep up so we're back to square one and this time, I will make sure it stays that way!" Ryu said and then started up his attack. Shinji then had his blades surround him to shield him but he was still get slashed by Ryu.

"Just give up and die. No one has ever defeated this attack and I doubt you would be the first!" Ryu laughed.

"Just give up and die, huh? Sorry but I can't do that yet! Just like you said before, how can I back down in the face of death after all my nakama went through! All of their efforts, how can I throw it all away!" Shinji said.

"You should take your own advice, Shinji. The only thing your foolishness will lead to is death. Tell you what, I will not only kill you but the rest of them so that way you can all go to hell together." Ryu replied.

"You're wrong. The only place we're going is back home to the Mist Village after I defeat you!" Shinji said. He then started to inhale and exhale his breath and as he did, chakra started to emit itself and took the shape of a dragon.

'What the? A dragon? And that chakra, it's huge! I see, so he's going to finish it with this last blow, huh? Well then, so am I!' Ryu thought.

" This ends here! Kage Hishun Ougi..." Ryu started to say.

"Kyoumouryuutou Ougi..." Shinji started to say as well.

"Shuntsuitoragiri (Instant Twin Tiger Slash)!" Ryu yelled as his chakra turned into the form of a tiger

"Hitenshoryuuha (Flying Heaven Rising Dragon Wave)!" Shinji yelled and then both attacks collided, creating an explosion. When the smoke clears, Ryu is seen floating in the air with cut marks on his chest and arms.

"Damn...you got me." Ryu said as he coughed out blood before hitting the ground.

"You got me too, yaro." Shinji grinned, and then two red slash marks appear on his chest to form an x and caused blood to ooze from them.

"Gomen, minna." Shinji said, and then succumbed to his injuries and and was about to fall to the ground when he was caught by someone. He looked up and his eyes then widened.

"You..." Shinji said.

"Looks like you guys got into one hell of a fight." Zabuza said.

"Geez, why didn't you...come by...sooner." Shinji said as he drifted off to unconsciousness.

"It looks like I'll have to step up my training or else these kids will surpass me." Zabuza said as he looked over the battlefield between both groups.

(Naruto vs Gaara)

"Tenkazedou: Kaze Shot!" Naruto yells out and is about to unleash his attack when Gaara swipes his tail at Naruto, knocking him back through several trees.

"Is that it, Namikaze Naruto? Is that the extent of your existence?" Gaara asked, howling.

"Actually it isn't, and by the way, that was a clone you struck." Naruto said behind Gaara and before Gaara could respond, Naruto smacks him with his wind Rasengan, knocking him way back.

"Did I get him?" Naruto asks, exhausted.

"I am very impressed with you, Namikaze Naruto. You have become the very first person to wound me to such an extent." Gaara said as he got back up, revealing his grazed stomach.

'It only did that? Damn it, I was expecting more.' Naruto thought.

"But unlike my brother, I can adapt to my opponents like I will right now. Hijutsu: Hanyou Shukaku (Secret Technique: Half-breed Shukaku)" Gaara said and then the sand wraps around him like a cocoon. When it breaks away, it reveals a Gaara that now has the same eyes as Shukaku, darker skin, wilder and redder hair, fangs, blue tattoos, and a sand racoon tail wrapped around his waist.

"What the hell?" Naruto yelled in surprise.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. This is one of my most prized techniques. We jinchuuriki can absorb the powers of our bijuu and that is exactly what I do with this technique! Renkuudan (Compressed Air Ball)!" Gaara said and then fired a huge ball of wind from his mouth toward Naruto.

"Tenkazedou: Kazehiki (Heavenly Wind Body: Wind Wall)!" Naruto says and tried to create a wall of wind to defend himself but Gaara's Renkuudan goes right through it and smacks Naruto in the gut, making the boy cough out blood and knocking straight to the ground.

"Renkuugan (Compressed Air gun)!" Gaara said and then begins to fire off small compressed air balls at Naruto by flicking them, and each ball creates a hole in Naruto, eventually leaving him with holes in his arms, legs, and chest.

"AAAAAGHHHHHHH!" Naruto yelled out in pain while Gaara hummed to the sound of Naruto's yell.

"Such sweet music to my ears. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Gaara said.

"What was that?" Sasuke asked.

"That was Naruto! He's in danger!" Sakura said and then started to dash faster than the others.

"Hey wait up!" Sasuke said.

'I have a bad feeling about all this.' Pakkun said.

(Orochimaru vs Sarutobi)

'Is that it? Have I come this far for this? Is this all the strength this old body of mine as?' Sarutobi thought as he started to lose his strength as he tried to pull Orochimaru's soul.

'You could have killed me if you were ten years younger.' Orochimaru chuckled mentally and then made the sword push further into Sarutobi's body.

"Sarutobi! You have to finish this off! If you do not, then the leaf will fall! Do you understand, Sarutobi!" Enma said.

"I know!...I know!" Sarutobi said as he pulled a bit more of Orochimaru's soul.

(Naruto vs Gaara)

"Look at you. You're so pathetic, Namikaze Naruto, and here I thought you would be the one to defeat me but instead, all you have proven is how weak the existence of others truly are." Gaara said as he walked toward the downed Naruto. He then grins and steps on his leg wound, causing him to yell in pain.

"Hey, that's Naruto! Hold on buddy, we're coming for ya!" Sasuke said as he, Sakura, and Pakkun were inching closer.

"So those are your nakama, huh? Well then, allow me to give them a present of grief and hoplesness!" Gaara said and then lifts Naruto up.

"This is what happens to those whose existence can no longer devour anything. Shi-ne!" Gaara said and then plunge his left hand through Naruto's chest, leaving a big hole.

Suddenly, the world started to go slowly as Sasuke, Sakura, and Pakkun witnessed what just happened and they suddenly stopped in their tracks.

"No...this can't be..." Sasuke said.

"We we're too late." Pakkun said.

"N...Naruto-kun..." Sakura whispered as tears started to stream down her face as she saw her beloved fall dead to the ground,

"NARUTO!!!!!" Sakura yelled out as Gaara laughed.

However, inside of Naruto, we see Naruto laying in a pool of water near the cage of Kyuubi.

"**Yare, yare, kit. Looks like I'll have to step in after all.**" Kyuubi said, chuckling through his cage.

To Be Continued...

"Well kit, you really fucked up this time. How dare you let this runt kill you like this? What happened to your dreams and goals? Are you really going to let down your nakama like this? Are you really going to let down Konoha like this? C'mon kit, stand back up and show that kid whose boss and why you're the jinchuuriki of the Nine Tails Fox!

Next time on Namikaze Naruto Chapter 17: Namikaze Naruto Strikes Back!

AN: As always, read and review


	18. Endgame

AN: As always, Naruto does not belong to me but rather Kishimoto Masashi. All I am doing is using is writing a creative story based on his series.

Okay guys, this is it! The finale of the Naruto/Gaara fight is here so get ready for an intense chapter and sorry for the delay but I'll make sure to get the chapters out faster since I'm on vacation!

"Look at you. You're so pathetic, Namikaze Naruto, and here I thought you would be the one to defeat me but instead, all you have proven is how weak the existence of others truly are." Gaara said as he walked toward the downed Naruto. He then grins and steps on his leg wound, causing him to yell in pain.

"Hey, that's Naruto! Hold on buddy, we're coming for ya!" Sasuke said as he, Sakura, and Pakkun were inching closer.

"So those are your nakama, huh? Well then, allow me to give them a present of grief and hoplesness!" Gaara said and then lifts Naruto up.

"This is what happens to those whose existence can no longer devour anything. Shi-ne!" Gaara said and then plunge his left hand through Naruto's chest, leaving a big hole.

Suddenly, the world started to go slowly as Sasuke, Sakura, and Pakkun witnessed what just happened and they suddenly stopped in their tracks.

"No...this can't be..." Sasuke said.

"We we're too late." Pakkun said.

"N...Naruto-kun..." Sakura whispered as tears started to stream down her face as she saw her beloved fall dead to the ground,

"NARUTO!!!!!" Sakura yelled out as Gaara laughed.

However, inside of Naruto, we see Naruto laying in a pool of water near the cage of Kyuubi.

"Yare, yare, kit. Looks like I'll have to step in after all." Kyuubi said, chuckling through his cage.

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 18: Endgame

* * *

As the battle in Konoha was continuing, a huge wind blew over as if someone had just passed away, 

'That feeling...Why does it feel so familiar? It's just like when Obito died..!' Kakashi thought and his eyes then widened as he looked over to the direction Sakura, Sasuke, and Pakkun left to find Naruto.

"Dear Kami...not again.' Kakashi thought.

* * *

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Gaara laughed. 

"Naruto-kun, please wake up." Sakura said as she tried to wake the blonde, hoping that this all a bad dream but helas the boy was not responding, "No...Naruto-kun! NO, YOU CAN'T BE DEAD! NARUTO!" Sakura yelled as this broke the camel's back as the reality finally settled in.

Naruto was dead.

'This is just like before...just like before!' Sasuke thought as he reminisced his brother who killed his entire clan.

"Maybe I was too weak to do anything that time but this time, I will do something about it!" Sasuke roared with his Sharingan flaring.

"Ah yes, you're Uchiha Sasuke, one of Naruto's nakama. Are you going to try to avenge his death? Please do so, prove to me that his existence actually mattered!!!!" Gaara roared in anticipation.

"SHUT THE HELL UP! Uchiaryuu: Ken No Jigoku Ryuu Kaen! (Uchiha Style: Fist of the Hell Dragon Flame!)" Sasuke said and then dashed toward Gaara and punched him multiple times with his flame-engulfed fists. His last punch struck Gaara in the face and sent him flying through a couple of trees.

"I'M NOT DONE YET! KATON: GOUKYAKUU NO JUTSU!" Sasuke roared and unleashed his strongest fireball technique yet in order to destroy the beast that murdered his best friend. However, when the smoke cleared, Gaara was on his feet and unscathed.

"Is that all you've got? Is this how much Naruto meant to you?! Ha, you're even weaker than he was, your existence has no value! Fuuton: Reppudan!" Gaara said and then fired his wind blast, striking Sasuke in the chest, making the boy cough out blood and knocking him back to the ground near the others.

"Sasuke!" Pakkun exclaimed and then turned his head to Sakura, "Sakura, we have to..." Pakkun began to say but then stopped as he saw the girl was in complete shock from what she witnessed.

"Sakura! You have to snap out of it or else we're all going to die!" Pakkun growled, trying to make the girl snap out of her shock but he couldn't.

"Stop it Pakkun, it's no use. She just witnessed the love of her life die right in front of her so it's obvious she's not going to be in the best mental shape right now and besides, I still have one more jutsu left." Sasuke said as he got back up and then did two seals before holding left hand downward and grabbing his left arm with his right hand. As he did, electricity began to form from his left hand.

"That's...Kakashi's raikiri or chidori." Pakkun said in awe as he recognized his master's jutsu.

'He's concentrating an amazing amount of chakra in his hand.' Gaara thought.

"THIS IS FOR NARUTO! CHIDORI!" Sasuke yelled and then dashed toward Gaara and plunges his attack into the boy's chest, piercing through though he did miss the heart.

"So tell me, does my existence still has no value huh?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.

"Is that it? This huge amount of chakra gathered for one attack and that's all it does? I might say it actually tickled." Gaara said much to the disbelief of Sasuke.

"Then how about another one? Ni Chidori (Second Thousand Birds)!" Sasuke said and then did a Chidori with his other hand but Gaara this time grabbed the second one with his right hand.

"You are truly weak, Sasuke. Your existence can never overcome mine." Gaara said, and then smirked darkly and then broke Sasuke's right hand, causing the Uchiha to yell in pain.

"Sasuke!" Pakkun yelled out.

"Now, disappear! Ni Reppudan!" Gaara yelled out and fired two reppudans at Sasuke, knocking the boy back and made him land near Pakkun and Sakura.

'Sasuke!" Pakkun yelled as the boy was unconscious, 'This is bad. With Sasuke out, we don't stand a chance against that guy!' Pakkun thought as he saw Gaara approaching them.

"What's the matter, girl? Are you that distraught about Namikaze's death, huh? Are you crying because you were too weak to help him? Don't worry, I'll make sure you will be reunited with him in the afterlife." Gaara grinned as he advanced toward Sakura.

"Why...why did you kill him? WHY DID YOU KILL NARUTO-KUN?!" Sakura asked angrily with her teared-up face.

"Why? You ask me why? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Gaara asked as he hollered in laughter before answering the girl's question, "I did it because I could. In a battle to the death, one does not need reason to kill their opponents, it is simply the objective of a fight that we must fulfill, it's simple as that. However, if you do need a justifiable reason you could say it was because my existence simply overwhelmed and devoured his existence." Gaara answered.

"Existence? What do you mean by existence?" Sakura asked.

"You Konoha ninjas really are naive, aren't you? The only way a shinobi can prove themselves in this world is through their existence and the only way they can prove their existence is through their own strength. When one loves himself and fights for only himself or herself, they will eventually reach new heights and become stronger. However, one who fights for the sake of others and lives for the sake of others, they become weak and thus their existence becomes weak and easily devoured. Let's take your comrades here for example. Both fought for the sake of others and look where it got them. One is injured and the other is dead while meanwhile, I am very much alive as you can see." Gaara finished explaining, and then smirked.

"If only Namikaze had only listened to me and learned to fight for himself instead of fighting for his foolish dreams and his foolish friends and village, he wouldn't have met such a horrible end." Gaara said.

"Don't you dare talk like that about Naruto-kun! His dreams were not foolish and he was not foolish!" Sakura yelled as she got back up.

"Oh really? And what are you going to do if I do so, foolish woman?" Gaara asked, slightly amused.

"I'll kill you with my own two hands." Sakura glared.

"I don't know if I should laugh or be offended." Gaara smirked.

* * *

"W...where am I?" Naruto asked as he regained consciousness. He looked around and found himself laying on water. 

"Can't believe you messed up kid." A voice said.

"Kyuubi?" Naruto asked as he turned around and found himself in front of the cage of the nine-tailed fox.

"In the flesh kid." Kyuubi said with a grin, flashing his fangs.

"B...but how am I here? Shouldn't I be dead?" Naruto asked as he remembered the wound Gaara gave him.

"I healed you of course. Don't underestimate yours truly kit." Kyuubi answered.

"Wait a minute? What about Gaara?" Naruto asked as he remembered the red-haired.

Suddenly, a mirror was formed that reflected the outside world and in there it showed Sakura being beaten down by Gaara while Sasuke was unconscious.

"Sakura-chan! Sasuke! Kyuubi, you have to let me go back or else they'll die!"Naruto asked the Kyuubi frentically.

"Sorry kid but I can't let you go back." Kyuubi said.

"Nani? Why the hell not Kyuubi? If I don't come back then they'll be killed!" Naruto roared at the fox demon.

"Damn it kid I didn't say you can't go back, just not now." Kyuubi said sighing.

"What do you mean by not now?" Naruto asked, a little bit more composed.

"That Gaara kid, I didn't actually expect him to force Shukaku into signing that contract. That complicates things alot more." Kyuubi said.

"What contract?" Naruto asked.

"The half-tailed contract. It's a contract that bridges between receiving the chakra of the bijuu and become the bijuu. You won't be as strong as if you were to use one of my tails but you'll be stronger than if you were using just my chakra." Kyuubi said.

"Really?" Naruto repeated.

"Yeah so it will make you stronger than you were before." Kyuubi added.

"So basically if I get that contract, then I'll be as strong or stronger than Gaara himself. That's a great technique, how do I learn it?" Naruto asked enthusiastically

"It's simple. All you have to do is sign the contract and then perform the same seals that Gaara kid did." Kyuubi explained.

"Okay then let's do this!" Naruto nodded with a fierce look on his face.

"Hold on, you also will need to sign another contract." Kyuubi said.

"What other contract?" Naruto asked.

* * *

"Chakra Scapels!" Sakura said and then performed the jutsu. 

She then rushed toward Gaara and try to cut him with that technique but Gaara kept on dodging her blows. He then counters with a hard punch to the gut, knocking the wind out of her. He then proceeds to grab her by the throat and lift her up.

"Just as I thought, you're useless. Though I must admire you for trying to fight against the inevitable and thus I will reward you by sending you to the afterlife with your nakama." Gaara grinned as he prepared for the final blow.

'Gomen Naruto-kun.' Sakura thought as she closed her eyes for her imminent death.

"Fuuton: Kaze Ha Oshi No Jutsu! (Wind Element: Wind Wave Pressure)!" A voice yelled and then Gaara was suddenly smacked into numerous trees by a powerful wind blast to the face. Sakura was about to fall to the ground when she was suddenly caught by two arms. She looked up and then gasped.

"N...Naruto-kun?" Sakura said as she saw that it was Naruto who grabbed her. Naruto looked pretty much the same except for the fact that he now had red fox-like eyes, fangs, claws, bigger whisker marks, and red streaks on his blond hair.

"Sorry about what happened Sakura-chan. If I had healed sooner then maybe you wouldn't have gotten so hurt bad." Naruto said with a warm smile causing the girl to blush.

"It's alright, Naruto-kun. But how did you heal? I saw where Gaara struck you, it was near your heart." Sakura asked.

'Hmm well...I learned this healing kinjutsu that allows me to heal from within but it takes time to complete however." Naruto said, obviously trying to cover up the fact that he was healed because of Kyuubi.

"Oh okay Naruto-kun. All that matters is that you're still alive." Sakura said with a smile.

Meanwhile, Gaara was getting back up as he had blood near his lips and was bruised up. He saw Sakura and Naruto holding each other and this led to images of a tan-skinned blue-eyed blonde smiling and her and a younger Gaara play in the sands together. The images then broke into pieces and Gaara began to clutch his head in pain and growl in pain.

"What's happening to him?" Sakura asked.

"I have no idea." Naruto replied.

"The way you two are holding each other and that feeling you have for each other...I loathe that feeling. I detest it with every fiber of my being!" Gaara growled angrily.

"Why do you hate that feeling, Gaara? Is it because you just don't believe in it or is it the key to a tragedy that happened in your life?" Naruto asked, surprising everyone.

"What are you babbling about Namikaze?" Gaara asked.

"For once I agree with that freak, what are you trying to do kid?" Pakkun asked.

"Sakura-chan, from the books you've read when we went with the library together, isn't a split-personality some sort of defensive mechanism caused by an event in that person's life?" Naruto asked his comrade.

"Yes that's right." Sakura nodded.

"What are you trying to say Namikaze?" Gaara asked.

"What I am trying to say is only a hypothesis but from what I have gathered, something tragic happened that caused you to develop a split personality that you call little brother, correct? So tell me about it, what caused the split to occur." Naruto asked.

'Is Naruto trying to gain a psychological edge on Gaara? But why?' Sakura thought.

"Why? Why do you want to know?" Gaara asked.

"I have my own reasons for all of this. Now, tell me." Naruto answered.

"Very well. Consider this as a gift for providing with much amusement Namikaze Naruto." Gaara said as he closed his eyes to reminisce.

* * *

_Flashback:_

_For all my life, I was hated, detested and feared because of what I was...a jinchuuriki. Even children of my age were afraid of me because I was known as the monster of Sunakagure._

_"Hey pass it!" A couple of kids said as they were playing soccer in a part of Sunakagure. In that same part, Gaara was on a swing with his teddy bear looking off sadly as he was all alone...again._

_Suddenly, the ball got stuck into a wall nearby, too high for the kids to reach._

_"Oh crap!" One of the kids said as they all raced to the wall where the ball landed._

_"What do we do? We haven't mastered any wall climbing techniques!" Another kid said worried._

_Then out of nowhere, the ball was lifted off the wall by sand and flew off. The kids looked for where the ball was heading and then gasped as the ball had landed in the hands of Gaara. Gaara tried to hand the ball but the kids started to back off in fear._

_"Y...you're Sabaku No Gaara..." One of the kids said trembling in fear._

_"Run for it!" A brown-haired girl yelled out and they all ran away from the jinchuuriki._

_"Matte! Don't leave me alone!" Gaara said and suddenly his sand unconsciously headed for the kids._

_"AH! Help me!" One of the kids said as he was grabbed by the sand._

_'I don't want to be alone anymore.' Gaara thought._

_"Noooo!" The kid yelled as the sand was coming to finish him off when suddenly a blur appeared in front of him, taking the brunt of the attack._

_"Please Gaara-sama! You have to calm yourself down!" A blond-haired man with blue eyes said with blood on his arms and forehead._

_This caused Gaara to stop and look down on the floor in shame. Later, Gaara is at home facing a picture of a female version of the man that stopped his assault earlier. Gaara then took the knife he was holding and tried to cut his left wrist but to no avail as the sand immediately stopped the knife._

_"Just like always, the sand stopped the attack." Gaara said sadly._

_"Gaara-sama." The blond-haired man from earlier said. He now wore bandages on his arms and forehead._

_"Yashamaru." Gaara said._

_"As a member of your medical team at Kazekage-sama's command, my duty is to protect you from any harm so please do not try to do such a thing." Yashamaru said._

_"Although it wouldn't have mattered since the sand protects you anyway." Yashamaru added with a sheepish smile._

_"Gomen Yashamaru. Do the injuries hurt?" Gaara asked as he saw the bandages on his caretaker._

_"Oh this? Well it hurts but just a little so it's nothing too serious." Yashamaru answered as he pointed to the bandages._

_"Yashamaru...what is pain? I never get injured so I'm just wondering what it is exactly." Gaara asked, taking Yashamaru by surprise._

_"Hmm...how should I put it? Afflictive or dreadful like when you're cut or beaten up...in short you're in an unbeareable condition in which you are unable to stay in your usual self. I can't explain it very well but I can say that it is unpleasant." Yashamaru explained to the best of his abilities._

_"I see. Then that feeling I feel in my heart, as if it was tightening up, is that pain Yashamaru?" Gaara asked he grabbed his chest._

_"Yes Gaara, that is one form of pain and unlike physical pain which can heal fast thanks to medical aids, the emotional scars are the ones that take the longest to deal with and hurt the most because there are no ointment available for them and the pain never goes away." Yashamaru explained._

_"There is however one thing that can cure such a heartache. However, as inconvenient as it may seem, this cure can only be given to you by someone other than yourself." Yashamaru went on to say._

_"What is it?" Gaara asked._

_"It's love." Yashamaru said._

_Love...such a word or emotion did not exist for a monster like myself. No matter how people acted toward me, no one loved me, not even Yashamaru. I could see it in their eyes that they all hated me because of the monster inside of me and that no matter what I did, they would always hate me. This is why I did not believe in this word called love...at least not until she came into my life. To everyone else, she was just a normal girl. But to me, she was the light in my darkness..._

_Gaara was again in the swings by himself when suddenly, someone sat on the swing behind him._

_"I'm sorry. I'll leave now." Gaara said as he expected the person to not want to be next to a monster._

_"Why are you sorry for? You didn't do anything wrong." The person, who was a girl by her voice, said._

_Gaara finally turned around and his eyes widened as he saw the girl sitting behind him. She had tan skin, long blond hair, black eyes, and was wearing a violet shirt with black pants and blue shoes. To many others, she may seem pretty but to Gaara, she was breathtaking._

_"My name is Rose and you must be Sabaku No Gaara, correct?" Rose asked._

_"Yes I am." Gaara replied quietly._

_"Well then Sabaku No Gaara, it's finally nice to meet ya though I would expect someone alot more scarier than you." Rose said with a grin._

_"Huh? You wanted to meet me?" Gaara asked, confused at how the girl was acting._

_"Of course I did. Everyone is always talking about how terrifying and weird you are and so I wanted to see it for myself. Though I was expecting to meet you sooner but with all the homework and exams, I've just been too busy to see you until now but like I said, I expected something much more terrifying than someone as cute as you." Rose said, finishing her explanation with another grin. Her cute comment caused Gaara to blush._

_"I...I don't know what to say." Gaara said, completely at lost by this girl who seemed to act unafraid of him._

_'Who is this girl? Why is she not afraid of me? And what is this feeling that I am experienced in my heart?' Gaara thought as he clutched his chest._

_"Hey Gaara, do you want to hang out here from now on? We can make it our secret place just for the two of us since my parents wouldn't want to see me hanging out with the so-called monster of the village." Rose suggested with a smile._

_"S...sure Rose." Gaara nodded with a blush once again._

_For the first time in my life I felt happiness in my heart. For once, I had a friend that I could talk and joke with. We hung out at this place every day and make sure we don't get caught. We would laugh, play games, do what ordinary kids would do and in time, as I hung out with her, that feeling in my chest continued to intensify and that is when I realized that I had fallen in love with Rose. But helas...all good things must always come to an end and also, reality always sets in._

_Gaara and Rose were in their hideout making sand castles_

_"You really are a great guy Gaara, not the monster everyone says you are. I'm really enjoying spending time with you." Rose said smiling._

_"I...I enjoy spending time with you as well...and when you told me that I was cute, I also think you're cut Rose-chan...and I...I really like you Rose-chan." Gaara said blushing._

_"I really like you too Gaara-kun." Rose said, also blushing._

_"I can't believe what I am seeing with my own two eyes." A man with blond hair and light skin wearing an unbuttoned blue shirt with a white shirt underneath and brown pants._

_"Dad!" Rose yelped in surprise._

_"I have heard the rumors that my own daughter was hanging out with that monster but I never imagined them to be true. Why Rose, why would you do this to me huh?" The man growled angrily._

_"But dad, Gaara is not a monster! He's a really a great guy and my friend!" Rose snapped back._

_"Are you really that naive to think that a monster can ever be your friend? A monster like him deserves no one. Now you're coming with me Rose!" Rose's father said and then grabbed her by the arm before turning his eyes to Gaara, "And don't you ever go near my daughter again, monster." He said before taking Rose and leaving._

_"Rose!" Gaara yelled. _

_Later, Gaara is able to track down the address that Rose gave him and knocked on the door. The door opened and Rose was there._

_"Oh it's you." Rose said._

_"I'm sorry for what happened earlier Rose-chan. I was wondering if we can hang out some more. I found this great place for us not to get caught and..." Gaara began to say but then the door was slammed shut on him._

_"Leave me alone you monster! I don't ever want to hang out with you or see your face again!" Rose said._

_"But Rose-chan! I thought you liked me, that I wasn't a monster." Gaara said as he began to clutch his heart._

_"I never liked you and I never will. Now leave me alone you monster!" Rose yelled._

_"Wait Rose, please open the door! Please Rose, I love you! Please let me talk to you!" Gaara said as he banged his hands against the door with tears flowing down his face._

_"Shut up and leave me alone! I hate you, I hate you Gaara and I will never love you! No one will! Now leave before I call jounins on you!" Rose yelled._

_Gaara then yelled as he fell on his knees and grabbed his chest once more. He then started to walk away crying. Unbeknownst to him, Rose was also crying on the other side of the door._

_"I'm sorry Gaara. Please forgive me Gaara-kun." Rose whispered._

_"This feeling! Why is my heart aching so much?!" Gaara asked as he was on the rooftop of a building._

_"Yashamaru said that love could heal anything but he was wrong! It can't heal everything and in fact, it's because of love that I am hurting like this! I don't ever want to see or experience love again!" Gaara said._

_"But in order for me to not experience it anymore, I cannot be in this world anymore. I see, I'll create another me, one that can protect me from such feelings and destroy it for me. Yes, I'll call him little brother. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha." Gaara said and then started to laugh. Suddenly, his sand blocked several kunais that were heading for him. He turned around and saw a jounin with flying kunais and he then smiled evilly. _

_"Oh boy, looks like I get to play!" Gaara said and then before the jounin could do anything, Gaara grabbed him with his sand and then crushed the man who fell to the floor. Gaara walked up to the man and lifted the carpet off and saw that it was none other than Yashamaru._

_"So it's you though I'm not surprised, you always hated us after all." Gaara grinned._

_"Us? What do you mean us?" Yashamaru asked surprised._

_"Oh I'm sorry, where are my manners? My name is Otouto Gaara, nice to meet you." Otouto Gaara smiled._

_"Little Brother? W...what's going on?" Yashamaru asked dumbfounded._

_"You see, Gaara doesn't want to be a part of this world anymore so he created me to handle all of you cretins. You guys have done so much harm to Gaara so it's fitting that he creates me to put the fear of God into each and everyone of you and to be honest, I don't mind it at all. Now, let's play Yashamaru." Otouto Gaara said with a crazed look in his eyes, and throughout the night, the only thing that could be heard was Yashamaru's screams of pain._

_After this, we decided to engraved the word love into our forehead as a significance of our existence. We decided to that we would only love ourselves and fight for ourselves._

_End Flashback_

* * *

"Are you satisfied now, Namikaze?" Gaara asked. 

"I am and now I understand why you became who you are. Sakura, I want you to heal Sasuke and then get back as far as you can, okay?" Naruto asked.

"Sure." Sakura said and then got off Naruto's arms and walked up to her fallen teammate in order to heal him.

'He's the same as me. Both of us were hated by everyone for something that was beyond our control and we both loathed everyone. However, I was able to find people that loved me and cared for me like Sakura-chan, Sasuke, Iruka-niisan, Kakashi, even the Hokage. The love that these people gave me has allowed me to overcome the loneliness and darkness that I was in but he didn't get the same things and thus was consumed by his hatred and darkness. If it wasn't for my friends, I would have probably ended up like him. Nevertheless, I now know what to do.' Naruto thought as he looked at Gaara.

"Gaara! I can understand your pain better than you think but if you think that shutting yourself from everyone is the answer then you're wrong and I'll prove it to you by saving you from the darkness that you are in!" Naruto said.

"Save me? I don't need any saving Namikaze! All I need is for you to die!" Gaara laughed.

"Hmm. Taijyuu Kage Bushin No Jutsu! (Mass Shadow Clone Technique!)" Naruto yelled and then hundreds of clones appeared.

"What the hell is this?" Gaara growled as he saw the shadow clones.

"No way, he was able to create this many shadow clones?" Pakkun asked in shock.

"Okay guys let's do this! Jump!" Naruto said and they all jumped, "Ninpocho Naruto! (Naruto Ninja Chronicles) Shihou Hapou Shuriken No Maki (The No-Escape Shuriken Chapter)!" Naruto yelled out and then he and his clones threw shurikens from all sides which forced Gaara to put up his sand to block it.

"NA-MI-KA-ZE!" The clones said and then knock Gaara into the air with rising kicks.

"Naruto Risen Rendan (The Naruto Two Thousand Combo)..." The Narutos all said and then all punched Gaara multiple times.

"No Maki! (Chapter!)" Naruto said and then finished it off with two powerful punches, knocking Gaara to the ground from 50 ft in the air, causing a crater. Gaara gets back up slow

"Now, we'll do a four thousand version with our legs this time!" Naruto said as they all headed toward Gaara.

"I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY SOMEONE LIKE YOU!" Gaara roared and suddenly all of the clones were destroyed and Naruto was knocked back into a tree as the smoke cleared and Gaara had now turned into the Shukaku.

"Is that the Shukaku that Kyuubi talked about?" Naruto asked as he got back up but then gasped as he found himself trapped in a sand coffin.

"This time, I'll make sure you stay dead!" Gaara said.

"I have to protect everyone." Naruto said and he bit one of his fingers.

"Sabaku Kyuu!" Gaara yelled out.

"Youkai Kuchiyose No Jutsu (Demon Summoning Technique)!" Naruto yelled out and then a large cloud of smoke occured and when the smoke cleared, Naruto was standing on top of none other than Kyuubi.

"Nani? He summoned that?" Pakkun said.

"Isn't that the Nine-tailed fox? But I thought it was killed by the Yondaime.' Sakura thought while healing Sasuke.

"Holy crap! Is that Naruto?" Sasuke asked as he regained consciousness.

"Oh Sasuke, you're awake." Sakura said.

"Sakura, am I on drugs?" Sasuke asked completely stunned by what he was seeing.

"Of course not baka!" Sakura snapped back.

"Oh okay, just wanted to make sure I wasn't seeing things." Sasuke said.

"So it looks like that other contract worked after all." Naruto said.

* * *

_Flashback:_

_"What other contract?" Naruto asked._

_"Remember that technique that hermit taught you? The summoning technique?" Kyuubi asked._

_"Of course I do but what does it have to do with the contract?" Naruto asked._

_"In order to summon anything you need a contract of it. Basically, I'm going to give you a contract in which you can summon me or any other fox demon you wish. However, if you were to summon me, my psyche would simply be placed in a replica of my body with only half the strength as my original body." Kyuubi informed the young Namikaze._

_"Okay then, I'll sign it!" Naruto said._

_End Flashback_

* * *

"You continue to amuse me Namikaze Naruto!" Gaara said, and then suddenly the real Gaara rose up from on top of the Shukaku's head. 

"This isn't looking good, kit." Kyuubi said.

"Thank you for entertaining me Naruto...I'll now show you the true powers of the Shukaku." Gaara said as he made a seal.

"Shukaku has a nasty habit of making its container become insomniac simply because when they sleep, he eats away at their personality and emerges. While the medium is awake, Shukaku's powers are suppressed but if he were to fall asleep, then Shukaku's true power would emerge." Kyuubi said.

"Right and because you're not at full strength, it's going to be harder to deal with him." Naruto said.

"Spell of Fake Sleep." Gaara said and then fell asleep.

"Yahoo! I'm finally out and it looks like I get to kill someone and who else other than Kyuubi, the fox bastard!" Shukaku hollered.

"Looks like you're finally out, you piece of shit raccoon." Kyuubi said.

"Fuuton: Reppudan Ha! (Wind Release: Compressed Air Ball Wave!)" Shukaku yells out and unleashed a powerful wave but fortunately, Kyuubi and Naruto were able to jump out of the way.

"Kitsune-Kaen (Fox Flame)!" Kyuubi yells out and then shot a fireball from its mouth but Shukaku was able to jump back to avoid it.

"We gotta get out of here now or else we'll be dead!" Sasuke said and he and the others went further back to avoid the fight.

"San Reppudan (Triple Compressed Air Ball)!" Shukaku yelled out and fired three consecutive air balls at Kyuubi.

"Tail Whip!" Kyuubi said and then deflected all three with his tails.

"Damn you Kyuubi." Shukaku growled.

"Kyuubi, we have to end this now before we destroy anymore of this place!" Naruto said.

"Okay okay. Just hold on tight kit." Kyuubi said and then he started to run toward Shukaku while doding air balls. Kyuubi then lunges and bites on Shukaku and holds him up with his claws.

"Okay kit! Snap that kid wide awake!" Kyuubi said.

"No problem!" Naruto said and then jumps toward Gaara, "Wake up now!" Naruto said and then punched Gaara hard in the face with a right hook.

'Good, the container was not sleeping for too long so the spell should wear off and that's a good thing because I barely have enough strength left.' Kyuubi said.

"No! And I was finally out!" Shukaku whined as he then sealed back.

"Damn you, Naruto! I'll kill you!" Gaara said as he then commanded the sand to grab Naruto and then was going to use the sand to kill Naruto when Kyuubi's tails stopped the attack.

"Don't think I'm through just yet!" Gaara growled.

"I am not going to lose!" Naruto said as his chakra then flared in a orange-like color. He then lunged toward but was grabbed the sand.

"Die!" Gaara said.

"I told you that I will not lose, you bastard!" Naruto said and then headbutts Gaara. The headbutt caused blood to trickle on both their foreheads and also caused the Shukaku to break down into sand.

"A headbutt huh? That's a shitty way to end a fight but heck, it did the trick. Anyway, time for me to head back." Kyuubi said and then poofed away.

Meanwhile, the two each landed on top of a tree and stared at each other, like reflections in a mirror.

"I feel so tired and empty, you must feel the same right? We are the same you and I so let's make this the end of this fight." Naruto said breathing heavily.

* * *

Meanwhile at the stadium, the fighting had died out as the jounins were able to fend off the enemy ninjas. 

"It's not only the sand village, I'm surprised at how many of the sound invaded as well." Gai said.

"Well, that's only to be expected you know. This is war when you get right down to it." Kakashi said.

On the rooftop, the anbu leader was still up there, witnessing the fight.

'It's been so long. It's not possible for a shinobi fight to last into the greater part of an hour...what on earth is going on down there?' The anbu leader thought.

"Looks like I do not have enough strength left to pull all of your soul out." Sarutobi said.

"Could you please just die already, Sarutobi-sensei?" Orochimaru asked.

"But...your ambitions will end here!" Sarutobi said.

"My ambitions will end? That is a lot to say under these type of circumstances." Orochimaru said and tried to move his arms but was unable to do so, 'It's grabbed my arms...I can't use any jutsu.' Orochimaru thought.

'Good. It's begun the separation process.' Sarutobi thought and he then moaned in pain.

"MY AMBITIONS WILL NOT END HERE AND YOU WILL DIE HERE!" Orochimaru roared.

"Your ambitions will no longer harm this village." Sarutobi said.

"It seems you've really grown old. You're the Sandaime Hokage, do you have the strength to rescue your own village? Look around you, I've ordered my subordinates, the Hidden Sand and Sound ninjas, to infiltrate the village. Your shinobis will be annihilated and so will the women and children as well. THE LEAF WILL CRUMBLE! HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA." Orochimaru said before laughing.

"You should know better than to take the shinobis of this village lightly, Orochimaru." Sarutobi replied.

* * *

"The enemy will pay for what they've done." A dark purple-haired woman in a grey anbu uniform said in front of the grave of Gekkou Hayate. 

"It's time to go." Another anbu told her.

"Yes. Let's go." She said as she put her mask on and then they all vanished.

Numerous ninjas were seen fighting back against the invaders including Hyuuga Hiashi who used his kaiten to knock back several enemies at once.

"Baika no Jutsu (Multi-size Technique)!" Akimichi Choza, Chouji's father, yelled and grew into a giant and started to fend off the enemy.

"What's going on? Is this the Kagemane No Jutsu?" One of the enemies asked as he was frozen by Shukaku, Shikamaru's father.

"Yes it is and you'll love this one. Kage Shibari No Jutsu (Shadow Neck Bind Technique)" Shukaku said and then performs a seal and a shadow of a hand travels up to the ninja's neck and then breaks it.

"Shinranshin No Jutsu (Mind Disruption Technique)!" Inoshi, Ino's father, said and then one of the enemy ninjas lunged at his comrade and end up killing each other.

"Just like old time, huh?" Inoshi said as his comrades appeared.

'The poison in my body...it's gone.' Shino thought.

"Don't move Shino. I'm using my bugs to draw out the poison." Shino's dad, Shibi, said.

"Father..." Shino whispered.

"Let's go Kuromaru!" Kiba's mother said as she and her daughter were about to find enemy ninjas on a rooftop.

"Ow!" The wolf replied.

* * *

"The Leaf Shinobi are all protecting this village. They fight with their life on the line! True strength is not in the mastery of ninjutsu but rather, true strength comes from when a person fights to protect their most precious person. Unfortunately, I was never able to teach you that." Sarutobi said. 

"Hmm...a boring speech." Orochimaru replied.

"Hmm...this is good. I don't feel like letting like you now. For someone who is obssessed with jutsus, this an appropriate punishment. To steal all of your techniques" Sarutobi said.

"Nani?" Orochimaru said.

"AHHHHH!" Sarutobi yelled and the death god pulled out Orochimaru's arms from his body.

"STOP IT!" Orochimaru yelled but it was too late as the death god's sword came down swinging and chopped off his soul arms.

"Sealed!" Sarutobi said and sealed the arms into his body, completing the technique.

"My arms...they won't move." Orochimaru said as he noticed his arms darkening.

"Those arms of yours are now useless because they have become sealed thanks to this technique. You no longer have any jutsu and your attempt to destroy the Leaf has been stopped." Sarutobi said.

"DAMN YOU OLD MAN! GIVE ME BACK MY ARMS!" Orochimaru yelled in rage.

"It's no use you fool, they've both been destroyed. My foolish apprentice, we will meet again in the other world." Sarutobi said

"Your light is blown out, old man! All this! All of my jutsu!" Orochimaru yelled.

'The place the leaves dance...the fire burns...The fire of a new shadow will illuminate this village and the world.' Sarutobi thought as he closed his eyes and drifted to death.

Back at the forest, Naruto and Gaara prepared for the final strike.

* * *

"MY EXISTENCE WILL NEVER DISAPPEAR!" Both yelled as they jumped at the same and prepared to throw a fist but Naruto was faster and punched Gaara in the face, signifying the end of the fight and his victory. 

To Be Continued...

Hey everyone, it's me Sakura and I'm doing the preview this time. In the end, the leaf village won but a terrible price as the Hokage passes away and we all have to go to his funeral to mourn his loss. But not only that but we also meet up with some old friends, Naruto makes a new friend and also, a looming danger is about to approach Konoha. All that and more in the next chapter of Namikaze Hokage! Better read and review or else Shannaro!


	19. A new era, a new enemy

AN: As always, Naruto does not belong to me but rather Kishimoto Masashi. All I am doing is using is writing a creative story based on his series.

"The Leaf Shinobi are all protecting this village. They fight with their life on the line! True strength is not in the mastery of ninjutsu but rather, true strength comes from when a person fights to protect their most precious person. Unfortunately, I was never able to teach you that." Sarutobi said.

"Hmm...a boring speech." Orochimaru replied.

"Hmm...this is good. I don't feel like letting like you now. For someone who is obsessed with jutsus, this an appropriate punishment. To steal all of your techniques" Sarutobi said.

"Nani?" Orochimaru said.

"AHHHHH!" Sarutobi yelled and the death god pulled out Orochimaru's arms from his body.

"STOP IT!" Orochimaru yelled but it was too late as the death god's sword came down swinging and chopped off his soul arms.

"Sealed!" Sarutobi said and sealed the arms into his body, completing the technique.

"My arms...they won't move." Orochimaru said as he noticed his arms darkening.

"Those arms of yours are now useless because they have become sealed thanks to this technique. You no longer have any jutsu and your attempt to destroy the Leaf has been stopped." Sarutobi said.

"DAMN YOU OLD MAN! GIVE ME BACK MY ARMS!" Orochimaru yelled in rage.

"It's no use you fool, they've both been destroyed. My foolish apprentice, we will meet again in the other world." Sarutobi said

"Your light is blown out, old man! All this! All of my jutsu!" Orochimaru yelled.

'The place the leaves dance...the fire burns...The fire of a new shadow will illuminate this village and the world.' Sarutobi thought as he closed his eyes and drifted to death.

Back at the forest, Naruto and Gaara prepared for the final strike.

"MY EXISTENCE WILL NEVER DISAPPEAR!" Both yelled as they jumped at the same and prepared to throw a fist but Naruto was faster and punched Gaara in the face, signifying the end of the fight and his victory.

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 19: A new era, a new enemy.

The two jinchuuriki then landed on the ground, a few feet apart from each other.

'He...he beat me?' Gaara thought as he struggled to move.

Naruto coughed out some blood but was able to stand up and start to walk toward Gaara, frightening the young boy.

"S...stay away! Don't come any closer! I won't allow you to put out my existence!" Gaara yelled in fear.

"You're wrong...I don't want to put out your existence. In fact...I want to help it grow." Naruto said.

"Help it grow?" Gaara asked.

"You and I...we're the same. Our whole lives have been parallel to each other. The pain, loneliness, hatred...I have experienced these emotions like you have so I understand you better than anyone else. But while you were never given the opportunity, I was blessed with many friends and people who understood me, loved me, and enabled me to ignore the hatred and loneliness in my life and grow stronger. It is why I fight for them, for my nakama, because they saved me from myself!" Naruto said.

"Saved you from yourself?" Gaara repeated.

"Yes they did because if I did not have them then I would have been swallowed by hatred and loneliness like you have!" Naruto said.

"IT'S THEIR FAULT! THEY'RE THE REASON WHY I BECAME WHO I AM! EVERY TIME I TRIED TO CREATE A BOND WITH SOMEONE, ALL THEY DID WAS REJECT ME AND TREAT ME LIKE A MONSTER!" Gaara roared in anger.

"And you betrayed them too, by becoming the very monster they've always feared. And you're wrong by everyone rejecting you, you sister and brother did not reject you and I'm not rejecting you. In fact, I want to become your friend Gaara." Naruto said as he was near the boy.

"My friend?" Gaara said.

"Yes and I'm sure Rose and everyone else in the village would want to be friends with you. All you have to do is give them a second chance and also show them the real you, not the monster they expect. Go and create bonds with others and you will see the strength that they give you, the true strength needed to overcome everything." Naruto added.

'Create bonds...can I really do that? And Rose...can we ever go back to the way it used to be? Maybe I should try, maybe.' Gaara thought. He then gasped as he saw Naruto stretch out his hand to him. Gaara then stretched out his hand and Naruto grabbed it.

"So what do you say, friends?" Naruto grinned

"F...friends." Gaara said with a true smile.

"Naruto-kun, you're okay!" Sakura exclaimed in joy as she and Sasuke arrived at the scene.

"Minna." Naruto said with a smile. Their attention was quickly grabbed when Kankurou and Temari arrived at the scene.

'Holy crap, I've never seen Gaara this beat up before. Did this Namikaze fella do this to him?' Kankurou thought.

"Temari-neesan, Kankurou-niisan. I want to go home." Gaara said.

'That's the first time he's called us like this.' Temari and Kankurou both thought.

"No problem little brother." Temari said and she and Kankurou grabbed Gaara and headed off with him.

"Temari-neesan, Kankurou-niisan, I want to start over. I want us to be a family. Will you two ever forgive me?" Gaara asked.

"O..of course we would. You're our little brother after all." Kankurou replied as both he and Temari were shocked at their brother's sudden change in attitude.

'Arigato, Arigato Namikaze Naruto. You were able to bring my little brother back to us.' Temari thought, crying as for the first time, her little brother was her little brother again.

* * *

"Why you! You shitty old man! You'll pay for this!" Orochimaru roared as the body of the Sandaime fell to the ground. 

"Sarutobi! The least I can do is free your body of this blade..." Enma said and then grabbed the Kusanagi and pulled it out from Sarutobi's body.

'Surely, you have mastered the way of the Shinobi until the end of your life.' Enma thought before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

"My arms...they're burning." Orochimaru said grunting in pain.

"Orochimaru-sama!" The white-haired member of Orochimaru's men said.

"Ughhh...the plan is over. It's finished so let's go back." Orochimaru said.

"Yes!" All four of them said and they all instantly dissolved the barrier, grabbed Orochimaru and quickly headed off.

"Oh no you don't!" The anbu leader said and all three anbus that were on the rooftop quickly jumped to intersect the four oto-shinobis.

"Ninpou Kumoshibari (Ninja Art: Spider Bind)" The one with the six arms said and then unleashed a spider web that binded all three anbus.

"Chakra pours into the stickiness of the web." One of the anbus said.

"Kakashi, they're getting away! Should we give chase?" Gai asked.

"No wait, Gai." Kakashi answered.

"That's right. It is a thumb of rule to never chase after an enemy unless one has proper information that enemy for fear of falling into traps and jutsus." The 'traitor' anbu said.

"We agree with those words one hundred times over. There could be traps and unseen areas and it's wrong to lose sight of an enemy...That's what a leaf shinobi is." Gai said.

"Since this little party is over, why don't you tell us who you really are?" Kakashi asked.

"Of course," The anbu began to say and then took off his mask to reveal Kabuto, "My name is Yakushi Kabuto and it's a name you ought to remember, fellow jounins." Kabuto said with a smirk.

"So what do we do now?" Baki asked.

"Simple, we retreat." Kabuto answered.

"So. you're going to run away?" Kakashi asked.

"Of course since I would hate for that eye of yours to copy my techniques though it's not as good as as the ones from an Uchiha. Until another time." Kabuto said and both he and Baki disappeared.

"Kakashi...the Hokage." Gai said and Kakashi nodded before they and the jounins all headed toward the rooftop. Once they arrive, they see the Hokage on the floor, dead.

'So it was true after all...the prophecy.' Kakashi thought solemnly as while the village had won the battle, they had lost something much greater...

* * *

Two days after the battle 

It was a rainy day as nearly everyone was at the funeral ceremony for the Hokage. Naruto was standing next to his teammates and Konohamaru and Iruka, who was comforting the young boy who had just lost a grand-father. Meanwhile, Kakashi was in front of the stone that he always stood in front to watch.

"Are those for Hayate?" Kakashi asked as he felt Hayate's girlfriend come up with a bouquet of roses in her hands.

"The ceremony for the Sandaime is about to begin. Kakashi-sempai, you're for Obito-kun, aren't you? You're always late for the examinations. Is it because of some special cause?" The girl asked as she made a silent prayer for her late boyfriend.

"Actually I was there very early...but I didn't know what to say when I got there. I used to be foolish and do meaningless things all the time." Kakashi said solemnly.

"Iruka-aniki, is life for us humans that simple? That fragile?" Naruto asked.

"When a person dies it doesn't matter if it is in the past, present or future, they will lose everything. He died fighting in a mission and death caught him unaware because life is that simple. It's like a dream, it's all the same if you don't reach your goal but everyone knows that the most important thing is to die for a cause. Family, friends, lovers and all of the other villagers, to me they are important people...we trust each other, help each other. From the day we we're born to the day we die, we start to feel that love is the mos important and...that kind of relationship takes time to develop and trust and anyone with this headband on knows because it's very important." Iruka explained to his younger brother.

"Yeah, I know that all too well but death, it's still so painful..." Naruto said.

"The Hokage, especially your father, wouldn't think it was painful because they agree that people should not be hurt for no reason. But...it's no use even if you do understand." Kakashi said, though he did whisper the father part so only Naruto could hear it.

"Right..but it's better not knowing than knowing, huh?" Naruto said with a smirk.

The funeral was over and everyone was heading back into their homes

"Bye Iruka-aniki!" Naruto said as he left to rejoin his team.

"Bye!" Iruka said.

Even though he is gone, the will of fire still lives, protecting the village as the ninjas of this village once again head toward a new tomorrow.

But Konoha was not the only village that had business to handle and a new danger is fast approaching...

* * *

"We're am I?" Ryu asked as he woke up. He then lifts his head up and saw that he was in a hospital room with blue hospital clothes which were composed of a shirt and pants. He also had bandages on his wounds and one look at those bandages made him remember his fight against Shinji. 

_Flashback:_

_" This ends here! Kage Hishun Ougi..." Ryu started to say._

_"Kyoumouryuutou Ougi..." Shinji started to say as well._

_"Shuntsuitoragiri (Instant Twin Tiger Slash)!" Ryu yelled._

_"Hitenshoryuuha (Flying Heaven Rising Dragon Wave)!" Shinji yelled and then both attacks collided, creating an explosion. When the smoke clears, Ryu is seen floating in the air with cut marks on his chest and arms._

_"Damn...you got me." Ryu said as he coughed out blood before hitting the ground._

_End Flashback_

"But how did I end up here?" Ryu asked.

"That's the same thing we want to know too aniki." Nina said as she and the rest of the group were also in the room, each on a bed with bandages on their wounds.

"Minna! You are alive!" Ryu exclaimed.

"Yeah though I don't know why?" Rai said.

"Shit, about time you guys woke up. I swear I thought you guys were never going to wake up." Suigetsu said as he and the others stepped into the room.

"So I take it we're at your village's hospital, correct?" Ryu asked.

"Yes you are. We took you guys in after our fight ended." Haku answered.

"But why? Why keep us alive?" Kome growled.

"You know, that is a very good question. Personally, I would have skinned you alive so I can have myself a nice wolf coat." Izoa said smirking.

"What did you say?" Kome growled, baring his fangs.

"You wanna fight?" Izoa asked.

"Izoa! Stop trying to entice him into a fight!" Shinji reprimanded the swordsman.

"I'm sorry but it's just so easy with people like him. In fact, he's just like Suigetsu except he can actually fight and he's not a dobe." Izoa said.

"Teme!" Suigetsu yelled.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt your feelings Suigetsu-chan?" Izoa said in a mock concerned tone.

"Okay that's it! As soon as we leave the hospital, it's you and me one on one!" Suigetsu roared.

"Yeah yeah whatever." Izoa replied nonchalantly which infuriated the other swordsman even more.

"Anyway, the reason why we kept you alive is because I have a proposal for you guys." Shinji said, getting everyone's attention.

"Proposal? What kind of proposal?" Ryu asked.

"It's simple. I want you guys to join the Swordsman of the Mist." Shinji said beaming.

"Nani?" The foursome all exclaimed.

"You've got to be kidding me." Izoa said.

"For once I agree with Izoa-teme and besides, why do we need them anyway?" Suigetsu asked.

"Because in order to become the 7 Swordsman of the Mist, we need seven swordsman and we only have three. Also, they have more than proven their skills in combat and we do need people like them to help our village grow." Shinji explained.

"Well, we don't really have a place to stay and I wouldn't really mind. What do you guys think?" Ryu asked his nakama.

"Shit I don't mind. As long as I get to fight and kill, I don't really care." Rai said shrugging his shoulders.

"If Ryu-aniki is staying, then so am I." Nina said.

"The same goes for me." Kome said.

"Then it's decided. We will become members of the Swordsman of the Mist." Ryu said.

"Alright, you're now official members of the Swordsman of the Mist group and welcome to Kirikagure!" Shinji exclaimed.

* * *

Meanwhile in Sunakagure... 

'The people. They still look at me with those eyes but it doesn't hurt as much anymore. Is it because of the bonds I created with him and my siblings. Is what he said true then?' Gaara thought as he was walking in the village.

He walked over to the place where he and Rose used to hang out when they were younger and suddenly memories of him and her playing flashed in his mind.

_Flashback:_

_"You really are a great guy Gaara, not the monster everyone says you are. I'm really enjoying spending time with you." Rose said smiling._

_"I...I enjoy spending time with you as well...and when you told me that I was cute, I also think you're cute too Rose-chan...and I...I really like you Rose-chan." Gaara said blushing._

_"I really like you too Gaara-kun." Rose said, also blushing._

_End Flashback_

"Rose..." Gaara whispered as his face saddened.

"I still remember our times here like it was yesterday." A voice said and Gaara turned around to see Rose who now wore a blue shirt with a white vest and black pants and shoes. She was taller now and also more developed than most girls her age.

"Rose..." Gaara said.

"You're probably still mad at me, aren't you? Ever since that day, I came by here every day hoping that things would go back to the way it used to be when it was just the two of us even though I knew it would never happened after what I did to you that night." Rose said.

"When you said those things to me, it felt as if someone had taken my heart and crushed it into oblivion. Those words hurt me so much, it was the first time I felt true pain and I just couldn't handle it." Gaara said.

"I'm sorry Gaara! What I did was wrong I know that but I was afraid, afraid of what my parents would to me and you. I didn't want anything bad to happen to us so that's why..." Rose said teary-eyed.

"So what! I don't care what they tried to do, I would have protected you Rose! I would have never let anything happen to you! I was in love with you Rose and I would have done anything for you and protect you from anything!" Gaara replied.

"I was and I'm still in love with you Gaara but it seems you will never forgive me and I understand because after all, I still haven't forgiven myself for what I've done to you. I wish things had happened differently, I really wish Gaara but we can't back time now can we? Anyway, I'm leaving now since you probably don't want to see me or speak to me anymore." Rose said with her eyes downcast. She turned back to leave when suddenly her hand was held up by sand, "Gaara?" Rose asked.

"We can't turn back time but we can start over again. A friend of mine told me that it is only by creating bonds with others that one can overcome the loneliness and hell they are in. Rose, I don't want to be alone and I don't want to be in this hell anymore and despite what happened that night I'm still in love with you Rose and I want to mend that bond that we shared together long ago." Gaara said.

"Then I promise I'll never leave you Gaara-kun, never." Rose said and then to Gaara's surprise went up and hugged him, "Thank you Gaara, thank you for giving me another chance." Rose added on.

"Rose-chan..." Gaara said blushing and smiling.

"Look at that, looks like my little brother is finally growing up." Kankurou said as he and Temari had spied on the new couple.

"That was so beautiful." Temari said as she wiped her tears.

"Guys, you're embarassing us." Gaara said as he and Rose flushed in embarassment causing the other two to laugh.

* * *

"Look at this." One of the sand jounins said as he and others were near the mountains. They looked down at a hole and saw the dead Kazekage and others. 

"It's the Kazekage." They all exclaimed in shock.

"They've been dead for a while now. Possibly even before the Chunnin exams." The jounin who found the bodies said.

"Damn. Now I see what happened. That bastard Orochimaru probably killed him and either he or Kabuto pretended to be the Kazekage right under our nose. We were careless..." Baki growled in anger.

* * *

Otokagure... 

"That asshole Sarutobi." Orochimaru said as he was put on a chair by Kabuto.

"Well, it wasn't going to be that simple. Remember, your opponent was revered as the strongest and greatest of the five kages. However, it still makes it impressive since you've taken out two of the five kages." Kabuto said.

"Shut your trap. Don't even try to patronize me. Despite what I did, I was unable to get what I truly wanted thanks to that bastard Uchiha Kyo and on top of that, I lost all of my jutsus. If only I had gotten my hands on Uchiha Itachi years ago then this would have never happened. But Itachi is stronger than I and on top that is protected by that man hence why I left that organization..." Orochimaru said.

* * *

Konohakagure 

"I'm happy for what you did for Neji, Sasuke-kun. It really means alot to me." Hinata said as she and Sasuke walking in the streets of Konoha.

"No problem Hina-chan though I did want to beat him up real good for what he did to you but I guess making you happy is a much bigger accomplishment. By the way, are you letting you hair get longer?" Sasuke asked.

"Y...yes I am. D..do you mind Sasuke-kun?" Hinata asked with a small blush.

"Of course not and in fact I think it'll make you look even more beautiful." Sasuke said with a smile causing his girlfriend to blush

"Uchiha Ultimate Technique! The Good Morning Sasuke Stomp Technique!" A voice yelled and suddenly, Kyo landed both feet on Sasuke from 40 ft in the air stomping the boy hard into the ground, causing Hinata to yelp in surprise.

"Sasuke-kun! Kyo-san, I do not believe that was a very good idea." Hinata said.

"Nonsense, Hinata-chan. A ninja should always be weary of attacks even when they're with their loved ones. Besides, all of this training will one day turn Sasuke into a fine ninja, ne Sasuke?" Kyo said.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU! CAN'T YOU EVER BE NORMAL FOR ONCE?!" Sasuke roared as he got Kyo off his back.

"Of course not. I'm a ninja, duh." Kyo said as it it was obvious.

"You better have a good reason for interrupting us or else I'll castrate you!" Sasuke growled.

"Actually I do for once. You and I are going on a trip." Kyo said beaming.

"Oh Kami, why have you forsaken me?!" Sasuke asked as he got on his knees.

"Stop acting like that Sasuke. Besides, all of our trips have always been full of fun!" Kyo grinned.

"Are you insane? Getting lost for a whole month in the mountains is fun to you?!" Sasuke growled.

"Okay okay. Obviously our previous trips have not been good but this one will be because we're going to a town that is affiliated with the Uchiha Clan." Kyo said.

"Really? And why are we going there for?" Sasuke asked.

"You'll see when we get there now get your things and meet me by the gate in ten minutes." Kyo said in a serious tone and then poofed away.

"Well it looks like our time together got cut short. See you when I come back, Hinata-chan." Sasuke said and then kissed her on the cheek, causing her to turn red and faint.

"Hina-chan." Sasuke said groaning as he now had a fainted girlfriend in his arms.

* * *

"Hehehe. The ladies in Konoha sure are something else." Jiraiya said as he was peeping at the bathhouses with his telescope from a rooftop nearby. 

"I see you still are a peeping tom haven't you." A voice said.

"I see it as a way to pass the time, Koharu-sensei, Homura Otchan. The better question is why are you two here for? Apparently the talks with the Sand when without a hitch." Jiraiya asked.

"Of course it did considering the fact that they find out that it was all of Orochimaru's doings and that he also killed their Kazekage. Thus they accepted a total surrender to the leaf which we accepted and as to us, the ravages of the war are our consequences and the restoration of the village power is our most pressing need at the moment. Our power is declining and people are becoming fearful. Right now under these circumstances, the top priority is to make preparations for an upcoming crisis." Koharu explained.

"Because we do not know the actions that the neighboring villages will take, it still depends. Until the power of this village is restored, several of our top people from the army were summoned and an executive committee was formed from these people. This was how this matter was dealt and decided with. Now first of all, we need a strong leader to rely on. Right now there seems be some sort of trouble coming this way and it's not just Orochimaru." Homura said.

"You see, what we are trying to say is that we need to build a foundation for this plan and as of now, a Godaime is needed." Koharu said.

"And in a meeting with the fire village it was decided that it would be you Jiraiya." Homura said.

"Sorry but I'm just not the type for it." Jiraiya objected.

"This is the decision that was made and besides, are you saying that one of the renowned sannins is not capable of handling such a job." Homura said.

"If you're looking for a sannin then there is another. That person is Tsunade." Jiraiya countered.

"That is true..even if that woman was qualified to succeed, we do not know of whereabouts." Homura said.

"I'm going to go look for her and bring her back. That shouldn't be a problem, right?" Jiraiya asked.

"However..." Koharu began to say but was cut off by Jiraiya,

"Don't be down because of me. I'll bring back Tsunade-hime to become the next Hokage so don't worry about a thing." Jiraiya said.

"I understand. I will take that into consideration immediately. However, you need to bring several Anbu members with you for your Tsunade search party." Koharu said.

"I'm not going to run away so there's no need for them. However, I do have one person I would like to bring with me. I just found myself a fascinating little egg." Jiraiya said.

* * *

Meanwhile in the middle of Konoha, three people with black cloaks and red clouds, and wearing straw hats and one of them with a bandaged sword, were standing in on a tree branch. 

"Doesn't this place bring you back some memories?" The one on the left said.

"Yeah it does." The one in the middle replied.

"You two go have some fun while I hunt for my prey." The one on the right said.

The other two nodded and all three vanished.

* * *

"Well well, you two look chummy. Are you two on a date?" Kakashi asked as he put down his book that he was reading while standing near a restaurant where two of the three cloaked men were located. 

"Baka. Anko just asked me to get her some sweets that's all." Kurenai replied blushing.

"But what are you doing here, Kakashi?" Asuma asked with a smirk.

"Well, I was just reading my book though I am also on the lookout for any intruders." Kakashi said, emphasizing the intruder part and when he checked inside the restaurant, the two men were gone. Kakashi gave a slight nod and Kurenai and Asuma understood and left.

* * *

The two cloaked men were walking when they stopped as Kurenai and Asuma were in front of them. 

"It's been a while, Asuma-san, Kurenai-san." The shorter one said.

"How do you know our names? Who are you?" Asuma asked.

The person removed it's hat and unbuttoned one button of his cloak. The person looked an older Sasuke with a ponytail instead.

"It's you...Uchiha Itachi!" Kurenai said as both her and Asuma were shocked.

"Don't forget about me now." The taller man said as he removed his hat revealing a blue-skinned man with shark-like gills and white eyes and blue hair, "The name's Hoshigaki Kisame. Nice to meet you all." Kisame said as he introduced himself.

"I guess we were bound to meet again in the near future. Now I have the task to take you on." Asuma said to Itachi.

"My my, they don't really like you do they Itachi?" Kisame said.

"I've heard of you as well Kisame. Originally from Kirikagure, you're known as the daimyo killer and wanted for destructive activities against other villagers, You two are S-ranked missing nin in the bingo book." Kurenai said.

"Itachi, that takes alot of balls to come back here after the crap you pulled. So tell me, what is your purpose for coming here." Asuma asked.

"Nothing really, just felt homesick for some reason." Itachi answered with a smirk.

"Why you." Asuma growled.

"So, shall we get started Itachi?" Kisame asked as he slammed his sword against the ground.

"Sure." Itachi said.

"Bring it on." Asuma said as he and Kurenai got into their stances.

"They're as good as dead." Kisame said with a grin.

* * *

"Kage Bushin No Jutsu!" Konohamaru said. He and Naruto were training in one of the fields. He tried to perform the technique but nothing happened. 

"Darn it, I can't do it!" Konohamaru whined.

"It takes time to learn such a jutsu, it is jounin-level after all and you just need more chakra reserves, that's all." Naruto said.

"Man, I wish I was strong as you Naruto-aniki." Konohamaru said.

"Don't worry, otouto. You'll be strong soon, I promise." Naruto grinned.

"How touching of you, Namikaze Naruto." The other man in the cloak with the red clouds and straw hat said leaning against a tree about 30 ft from them.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

"Too bad you couldn't even notice me until I spoke and I've been here for fifteen minutes. Not a good sign, Naruto." The person chuckled.

"I said who are you and how do you know my name?" Naruto asked angrily.

"Straight to the point aren't we? Might as well introduce myself." The man said and took off his straw hat to reveal a man with a hairstyle similar to Naruto but auburn-colored, blue eyes with ring-like pupils, and strange black things on his face, especially near his nose. He wore the headband of the Rain village but with a scratch mark on it.

"My name is Pein and I've come here in order to fight you to the death, Namikaze Naruto. I hope I didn't come at a bad time, boy." Pein with a bloodthirsty grin.

* * *

To Be Continued... 

Hey guys it's me Konohamaru and man, things are not looking too good. First, Asuma and Kurenai have their hands full fighting Itachi and Kisame but none of it compares to Naruto having to fight this Pein guy who's completely crazy and bent on killing Naruto-aniki and nothing that Naruto does work on that guy. Why does he want to kill Naruto so bad? Well I don't know but I know Naruto won't die because he'll become Hokage, believe it! So you guys better not miss this next exciting chapter of Namikaze Hokage!

Chapter 20: Devils

AN: As always, read and review


	20. Devils

AN: As always, Naruto does not belong to me but rather Kishimoto Masashi. All I am doing is using is writing a creative story based on his series.

The two cloaked men were walking when they stopped as Kurenai and Asuma were in front of them.

"It's been a while, Asuma-san, Kurenai-san." The shorter one said.

"How do you know our names? Who are you?" Asuma asked.

The person removed it's hat and unbuttoned one button of his cloak. The person looked an older Sasuke with a ponytail instead.

"It's you...Uchiha Itachi!" Kurenai said as both her and Asuma were shocked.

"Don't forget about me now." The taller man said as he removed his hat revealing a blue-skinned man with shark-like gills and white eyes and blue hair, "The name's Hoshigaki Kisame. Nice to meet you all." Kisame said as he introduced himself.

"I guess we were bound to meet again in the near future. Now I have the task to take you on." Asuma said to Itachi.

"My my, they don't really like you do they Itachi?" Kisame said.

"I've heard of you as well Kisame. Originally from Kirikagure, you're known as the daimyo killer and wanted for destructive activities against other villagers, You two are S-ranked missing nin in the bingo book." Kurenai said.

"Itachi, that takes alot of balls to come back here after the crap you pulled. So tell me, what is your purpose for coming here." Asuma asked.

"Nothing really, just felt homesick for some reason." Itachi answered with a smirk.

"Why you." Asuma growled.

"So, shall we get started Itachi?" Kisame asked as he slammed his sword against the ground.

"Sure." Itachi said.

"Bring it on." Asuma said as he and Kurenai got into their stances.

"They're as good as dead." Kisame said with a grin.

"Kage Bushin No Jutsu!" Konohamaru said. He and Naruto were training in one of the fields. He tried to perform the technique but nothing happened.

"Darn it, I can't do it!" Konohamaru whined.

"It takes time to learn such a jutsu, it is jounin-level after all and you just need more chakra reserves, that's all." Naruto said.

"Man, I wish I was strong as you Naruto-aniki." Konohamaru said.

"Don't worry, otouto. You'll be strong soon, I promise." Naruto grinned.

"How touching of you, Namikaze Naruto." The other man in the cloak with the red clouds and straw hat said leaning against a tree about 30 ft from them.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

"Too bad you couldn't even notice me until I spoke and I've been here for fifteen minutes. Not a good sign, Naruto." The person chuckled.

"I said who are you and how do you know my name?" Naruto asked angrily.

"Straight to the point aren't we? Might as well introduce myself." The man said and took off his straw hat to reveal a man with a hairstyle similar to Naruto but auburn-colored, blue eyes with ring-like pupils, and strange black things on his face, especially near his nose. He wore the headband of the Rain village but with a scratch mark on it.

"My name is Pein and I've come here in order to fight you to the death, Namikaze Naruto. I hope I didn't come at a bad time, boy." Pein with a bloodthirsty grin.

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 20: Devils

"Let's start things off!" Kisame said and then swung his sword at Asuma who blocked it with his chakra knives. Upon collsion, the ground caved in under Asuma.

'Dear lord, how strong is this guy?' Asuma thought as he struggled to push Kisame back. Asuma then rolled out of the way and headed for Kisame's right and swung his left arm but Kisame grabbed it and then tossed him away. Asuma got back up only to see Kisame dive straight for him sword first. Asuma moved out of the way and Kisame's sword struck the ground and created a crater. Kisame then swung his sword again and this time lands on Asuma's shoulder.

"My sword, Samehada, doesn't cut it shaves you to death!" Kisame said and then pulled his sword back, shaving off Asuma's shoulder.

"Took you long enough Kurenai." Asuma said as he clutched his bleeding shoulder.

"What the?" Kisame said as he suddenly found himself being sucked into the ground.

"I see, it's a genjutsu." Itachi said as he found himself trapped within a tree. Suddenly, Kurenai appeared above in the same tree with a kunai in her hand.

"This is it!" Kurenai said and swung her kunai only to find herself in the same position Itachi was while the latter was in front of her.

'A genjutsu-counter technique?' Kurenai thought.

"Sorry but genjutsu of that level are just too inefficient to work against me. Now die." Itachi said. He then grabbed a kunai and headed straight for Kurenai and swung his kunai in hopes of cutting her neck off but she was able to free herself from the genjutsu by biting her lip and then ducked the attack. But before she could get back up, Itachi knocked her into the river with a roundhouse kick.

"Kurenai!" Asuma cried out.

"Not bad for such a weakling but..." Itachi said as he was right behind her.

"But this is as far as you go." A person said behind Itachi.

Kisame swung his sword multiple at Asuma who kept dodging them. Asuma then retaliated with a right hook that misses as Kisame dodged it but then a cut appeared on Kisame's left cheek.

'Nani?' Kisame thought surprised.

"So, how do you like my chakra blades?" Asuma asked with a grin.

"You're got lucky." Kisame said and then jumped back and went through a couple of seals.

"Suiton: Suikodan No Jutsu (Water Release: Water Shark Blast Technique)!" Kisame and Kakashi both yelled at the same time and both techniques collided and nullified the other.

"He copied the same jutsu?" Kisame gasped.

"What are you doing here?" Asuma asked Kakashi.

"I thought about leaving this to the both of you but I got worried and came here." Kakashi said.

"A Kage Bushin..." Kurenai said as he saw that there was two Kakashis.

"So talk. What is a rogue ninja like you doing here?" the Kakashi behind Itachi asked with a kunai.

"Hatake Kakashi." Itachi said as he turned his head to face the copy-nin.

'Those eyes...they are those of a true heir of the Uchiha Clan and Sharingan. This is probably the worst scenario imaginable.' Kakashi thought as he locked eyes with the Uchiha.

"Well what a surprise. That eye of yours, you must be Hatake Kakashi the copy-ninja. No wonder you copied my jutsu since you possess the Sharingan like Itachi does." Kisame said chuckling.

"You can imagine my surprise. I go to check up on two low-life vagabonds at a tea house and they end up being none other than Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigake Kisame, the demon of Kirikagure." the Kakashi beside Asuma said.

"What about that, you know my name. I'm honored." Kisame said.

"And that bizarre sword of yours must be Samehada, the shark skin sword." Kakashi said and then pulled out a kunai.

"I'd love to cut you apart." Kisame said as he pointed his sword toward Kakashi.

"Now now Kisame. It's not fair to be this greedy, let me have some fun with him." Itachi smirked.

"S...sure." Kisame said and pulled back his sword, 'This isn't like Itachi at all. Even in a situation like this, he wouldn't act this way or even smirk.' Kisame added mentally.

"Fun? Don't tell me you came here just to have some fun?" the Kakashi beside Asuma asked before poofing away.

"Like I told these two before, I only came here because I felt homesick." Itachi said.

"Homesick? That's the sorriest excuse I've heard. I know you have a bigger purpose than this considering you're from Akatsuki." Kakashi growled.

"Akatsuki? Who the heck are they?" Kurenai asked.

"They're a group of nine s-class missing-nins that have joined in a collective group to perform numerous acts of assassination and other forms of violence and illegal activities." Kakashi explained.

"So you know about us huh? You must have a pretty good informant." Kisame said.

"Well if you must know, we came here to provide a diversion while our other friend went to find his prey." Itachi said.

"Who's your friend?" Kakashi asked.

* * *

_Flashback:_

_"Listen Naruto, I want to tell you something." Jiraiya said as he and Naruto were eating ramen at the ramen shop._

_"What is it?" Naruto asked._

_"If you ever meet someone named Pein, do not and I repeat do not under any cirumstances fight him. Just run, run as far as you can." Jiraiya said._

_"Why for?" Naruto asked intrigued._

_"Because that man...is the devil himself." Jiraiya said._

_End Flashback_

'So this is him, Pein. Just looking at him is like looking at a death god itself. Despite his appearance and attitude, I can smell an unimaginable amount of bloodlust and judging by his intentions, he doesn't intend to let me run away.' Naruto thought.

"Stop wasting my time Namikaze Naruto and fight me." Pein said.

"Why do you want to fight me to the death so badly?" Naruto asked.

"There's no need for me to answer your questions. The only thing you need to know is that I want to fight you to the death." Pein answered.

"But why me?" Naruto asked.

"Because I want to. Does that answer your ridiculous question?" Pein asked without even blinking.

"You're sick!" Naruto growled.

"I'm sick? Why? Because I am not a good guy like you leaf ninjas are? Don't be so naive, I'm a ninja and ninjas kill because we are tools created to kill except that I kill whoever I want whenever I want. Now enough of this ridiculous questioning, Namikaze Naruto. I came here to fight you to the death, not to chat." Pein replied.

"Konohamaru?" Naruto said as he tried to speak to the young academy student but the latter was so scared of Pein that he pratically ended up peeing in his pants.

"I know you're scared but you have to get away. Run away as fast you can and find Jiraiya. He's a tall man with large white hair, you can't miss him." Naruto whispered to the boy.

"But what about you? I can't leave you here!" Konohamaru cried.

"JUST DO AS I SAY! Don't worry, he'll be able to help me. Now go!" Naruto ordered the young boy. Konohamaru nodded and headed off.

"Sorry but I can't let him be involved in this." Naruto said.

"I really hate repeating myself. I could care less about that boy, I came to fight you Naruto and no one else. Besides, judging by how he practically shit in his pants, that kid is not even worth my time killing." Pein replied.

"Is that so."Naruto smirked as he got into his stance.

"Kage Bushin No Jutsu!" Naruto yelled and created six shadow clones.

'Oh, how interesting. He's trying to use his clones as a way to decipher my fighting style in order to come up with a weakness to exploit. Let's see how this plays out.' Pein thought.

'Despite what Jiraiya said, this man must have a weakness. Every ninja, no matter how strong, always have a weak point. All I have to do is find it and then exploit it to my advantage.' Naruto thought.

"Here we come!" Naruto yelled and then they all ran toward Pein. The clones tried to strike Pein from different directions but were unable to hit him at all even though he just stood there.

"Naruto Ninpocho: Shuriken No Maki (Naruto Chronicles: Shuriken Chapter)!" The Narutos yelled out and threw a volley of shurikens at Pein.

"Foolish." Pein said and then caught all of the shurikens with one hand effortlessly. He then tossed them all back at the Narutos, who upon contact turned into smoke.

"You're mine! Fuuton Rasengan!" Naruto yelled as he jumped behind Pein with his rasengan in his right hand. However, his hand was quickly deflected by Pein's left arm causing Naruto's rasengan to hit the ground and create a crater.

"Such infantile tactics won't work against me, Namikaze." Pein said and connected with a right roundhouse kick that struck Naruto in the face. The kick was so powerful that it sent Naruto flying 100 ft through the forest before finally hitting the ground.

"Kuso. He saw right through my tactic despite the fact that I attacked his blindspot." Naruto said as he slowly got back up and spat some blood onto the ground.

"First rule of combat. Never let your opponent get behind you." Pein said behind Naruto before swinging his right fist downward. Naruto was able to dodge the blow using shunshin but he then gasped as Pein's fist struck the ground and broke it apart with ease.

"Kyoukudai Tenkazedou: Shipuuryuuken (Maximum Heavenly Wind Body: Wind Dragon Fist)!" Naruto yelled as he activated his Tenkazedou and then flew toward Pein with his right arm engulfed by a wind dragon. He swung his fist at Pein who countered by simply extending his left fist and both fists collided, creating a powerful shockwave.

'This is ridiculous. He's actually holding back my strongest Tenkazedou attack with just the chakra emitting from his fist? What kind of monster is he?' Naruto thought as he found himself unable to even make Pein budge.

"You must be wondering why your attack isn't working, correct? To make it simple Naruto, if two energies collide, the weaker one gets pushed down. No matter how much chakra you put into an attack, if it is up against something of less amount of chakra but of greater level of chakra then it will be pushed down and be nullified like this." Pein explained and Naruto's attack was indeed nullified, making the boy's eyes widen in shock. But before Naruto could even respond, Pein struck him six times in the stomach in the blink of an eye with his right fist causing Naruto to cough out blood and be knocked into a tree.

"Is this the extent of your strength, Namikaze Naruto? I'm greatly disappointed since I expected more from the son of the Yondaime Hokage." Pein said. He was then punched in the face by Naruto and sent flying about 10 ft but he then recovered in mid-flight and landed on his feet. He looked back at Naruto who was now in his Half-Tailed Kyuubi Mode.

"So you're able to increase your strength and speed in the middle of a fight with some sort of technique I see." Pein said as he analyzed what Naruto had done.

"Am I still disappointing you Pein?" Naruto asked with a smirk.

"Not at all and in fact, it looks like I'll have to step up my game just a bit." Pein replied.

"Just a bit? Don't mess with me asshole!" Naruto roared.

"Trust me on this, Naruto. Just a bit is more than enough to fight someone of your skill level. Now, let it rain." Pein replied with a slight smirk and suddenly, it is started to rain but only where Naruto and Pein were fighting.

'What's up with this rain? It feels like the rain is infused with chakra.' Naruto thought as he noticed the rain.

"I don't know what you're planning with that rain but it won't work! Fuuton: Shippu-ken!" Naruto said and then unleashed a tornado from his fist.

"Wall of Rain." Pein said softly and then the tornado was nullified by a wall of rain.

'So I was right. This rain isn't normal as he can use it to create techniques with it. This makes matters worse.' Naruto thought.

"Storm Dragon." Pein said and then a dragon was formed from the rain and headed straight for Naruto who immediately started to go through seals of his own.

"Fuuton: Kazeryuudan (Wind Release: Wind Dragon Blast)!" Naruto yelled out and unleashed a dragon made of wind from his mouth. But then the strangest thing happened as Pein's dragon avoided Naruto's and flew directly at the boy and struck him...only for the latter to turn into a log. Pein's eyes widened for just a second before he looked up to see the boy floating in mid-air.

"Tajyuu Kage Bushin No Jutsu!" Naruto yelled and created a mass amount of shadow clones that all were in Half-tailed form. They then all dived toward Pein along with the real Naruto this time.

"Blades of Rain." Pein said and then the rain droplets turn into blades of rain and flew toward the army of Narutos, cutting each and everyone. All of the clones poofed away and Naruto landed on the ground with cuts all over his body.

"You're trying to find a weakness in my defenses to exploit, weren't you? The problem is that I also fight the same way as you do except I've been doing it for decades longer." Pein explained and then started to walk toward the down blonde, "I expected a lot more from the shinobi destined to kill me but all in all, I'm very disappointed." Pein said as he arrived near the blond.

"Destined? What are you talking about?" Naruto asked.

"Apparently according to the great elders of Tianman Mountain located near here, a shinobi born from the hurricanes was going to kill me one day. That's why I went to the Hurricane Village to see if I could find that shinobi but all I found was a clan called the Namikaze Clan who had heard about me and tried to kill me. I ended up killing every single of one of them and everyone in that village as well except for one boy. Let's see, ah yes his name was Namikaze Minato. I let live him since he was the heir of the clan and thus had the potential to be that shinobi. But when my informants informed me about his death, I had lost hope until I heard of you, his son who was revered as the strongest genin and a genius beyond his years and then I knew you were the one." Pein explained.

"So it's your fault...you killed them all. IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU THAT MY FATHER'S CLAN IS GONE!" Naruto roared in anger.

"Yes and?" Pein replied.

"FOX-FIRE!" Naruto roared and then fired a fireball from his mouth which struck Pein and created an explosion. However, when the smoke cleared, Pein was unscathed.

"You would have gotten me if I didn't shield myself with chakra. Though it would seem that you're the type of a person who needs motivation or anger in order to perform better like one of those cliche main characters from a manga or story. I wonder if killing everyone here would help you perform better?" Pein asked.

"Urusai. I won't let you touch ANY OF THEM!" Naruto roared and then dashed toward Pein.

* * *

"Tell me, who is he?" Kakashi asked.

"Well then Kakashi, should we get started?" Itachi asked and then pulled out three shurikens with his right hand. This caused Kakashi to jump back and go through a series of seals.

"Suiton: Suijinheki (Water Release: Water Wall)!" Kakashi said and then summoned a wall of water just in time to block three water drills that were headed for him.

'Damn him, his sealing speed is so fast that I didn't even see a hand sign. Those shurikens were just a diversion in order for him to lower my guard and it would have worked too if it wasn't for my Sharingan.' Kakashi thought.

"You're good. You almost anticipated my attack, almost." Itachi said as he was right behind Kakashi and stabbed him with a kunai.

'Kage Bushin? His sealing speed is too great.' Kurenai thought.

But then, Kakashi turned into water.

'A Mizu Bushin? My village should be proud that he has copied so many of our jutsus.' Kisame thought with a grin.

"Nice Kakashi." Kurenai said as she grabbed the kunai from Kakashi who was swimming underwater.

"Get back Kurenai! This one is also a clone!" Kakashi said as he lunged from underwater and pushed Kurenai away as the Itachi clone exploded, causing a large stream of water to go upwards.

"Kakashi! Kurenai!" Asuma yelled, 'He made his own clone explode?' He added mentally as he jumped into the water.

When the water cleared out, Kakashi was in front of Asuma and Kurenai, looking at Itachi.

"Be on your guard you guys. This guy was made ANBU Captain by age 13." Kakashi warned his comrades.

"Okay he's tough, we get it." Asuma said.

"Tough? You haven't even begun to see what he can do." Kakashi said.

"For someone who is not of the Uchiha clan, you're able to use the Sharingan well. However, you do not possess the body for it and that is something you can't copy." Itachi said.

'He's right. My body doesn't have the stamina for the Sharingan.' Kakashi thought.

"Why is the Uchiha clan known by all and feared by all? I'll show you how with this." Itachi said and then re-opened his eyes, causing Kakashi to look shocked.

"Kurenai! Asuma! Close your eyes now! I'm the only one who can deal with this right now." Kakashi exclaimed, causing both jounins to close their eyes.

"You are right, Kakashi. Your Sharingan may even be enough to deal with the Mangekyou Sharingan but not enough to deal with technique called Tsukiyomi." Itachi said.

Suddenly, Kakashi's world warped and the sky turned red and everything turned black and he found hismelf tied into a cross.

"Hmm. I wonder how much of this can you take. Well, let's find out shall we Kakashi." Itachi said as he had a katana in his hand and then started to stab Kakashi with it.

* * *

"Hmm that's strange. He's usually always here by lunch time." Jiraiya said as he went to look up Naruto at the Ramen Shop. He turned to leave when he suddenly felt something bump into his leg. He looked down and saw Konohamaru.

"Hey little guy. You should be more careful when running in the streets." Jiraiya chuckled.

"Long white hair...You're the guy Naruto-aniki wanted me to look for!" Konohamaru exclaimed.

"Naruto wanted you to look for me? Why is that?" Jiraiya asked intrigued.

"That's because of that guy...he's...he's..."Konohamaru stuttered as he tried to tell Jiraiya what was happening.

"Okay slow down and relax. Now tell me what happened?" Jiraiya said as he tried to calm the child down.

"Me and Naruto-aniki were training in one of the training fields when suddenly this guy comes and tells Naruto that he wants to fight him to the death or something. Naruto then sent me to get you and stayed back to fight that guy." Konohamaru said.

"What's that guy's name?" Jiraiya asked.

"He said his name was Pein." Konohamaru answered and upon hearing that name, the color washed off from Jiraiya's face.

"Dear Kami no. Okay stay here kid, I'm going to help Naruto." Jiraiya said and then quickly ran, 'Hold on Naruto. I'm on my way.' Jiraiya thought.

* * *

"So you're now reducing yourself to this? How pathetic." Pein said as he blocked all of Naruto's punches.

"Rain Bullets." Pein said and then a volley of rain droplets struck Naruto in his arms, legs, and chest causing the boy to yell in pain. But Pein was not done as he connected with a right straight to Naruto's face, knocking the boy into a tree.

Naruto stood back up, ran toward Pein and threw a jumping roundhouse kick with his right leg but Pein blocked it, then grabbed Naruto by his shirt, pulled him and kneed him in the stomach causing the boy to cough out more blood as he fell on his knees clutching his stomach. Pein then punched him in the back with his left fist causing the ground to cave in.

"How truly pathetic. The son of the strongest hokage can't even hold his own. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. Now die." Pein said as his left hand was engulfed in chakra. He then was about to perform the finishing blow when a blur past by and grabbed right before his eyes.

"What a surprise. Jiraiya the Toad Sannin." Pein said as he saw that it was Jiraiya who had taken Naruto away.

"I won't let you kill this boy. He's under my protection and if you want to kill him then you'll have to go through me." Jiraiya said as he got into his stance.

"Sounds tempting but I'll have to pass for now. One thing though, are you training this boy?" Pein asked.

"Yes I am. So what?" Jiraiya asked.

"I see. Well then I'll leave but know this Naruto if you can hear me. Grow strong boy or else I will destroy everyone you hold dear to you whether from this village or another and know that I will always be hiding in the dark corners of your mind, like a nightmare. Until next time and have a nice day." Pein said and then disappeared.

"E...ero-sennin." Naruto said before slipping unto consciousness.

"Sorry Naruto, I should have come sooner." Jiraiya said to the unconscious boy.

* * *

"So it was only genjutsu." Kakashi said as after he was stabbed only for the wound to disappear.

"In the Tsukiyomi, time and space and even physical mass, I control them all. For the next seventy-two hours, it will be nothing but this over and over again." Itachi said as him and a clone stabbed Kakashi.

Kakashi then found himself in the same moment again as Itachi repeated what he said again before stabbing him along with his clone.

'Keep calm. It's only genjutsu.' Kakashi told himself mentally as he was heaving heavily.

"Telling yourself it's only Genjutsu will do you no good. I wonder how long you can survive before your spirit breaks." Itachi said as he stabbed Kakashi again.

Then a moment later, Kakashi found himself surrounded by other reflections of himself on a cross and two Itachis on each reflection. They then all disappear and he was the only one surrounded by all of the Itachis.

"Only seventy-one hours left." Itachi said.

'W...what? Only a second has passed? No...' Kakashi thought as he was then stabbed by all of the Itachis. The world then turned back to normal, and Kakashi was breathing heavily before falling on one knee.

"Kakashi, can we open our eyes?" Kurenai asked.

"No..." Kakashi said.

"What just happened? One minute you were standing there and the next you hit the ground." Asuma asked.

'Three days in that world and only a minute has passed. If he could do that then why not just kill me?' Kakashi thought.

"Hmm, the fool's spirit is still intact and meanwhile, you risk overusing those eyes of yours Itachi." Kisame said as he reappeared beside Itachi.

"Tell me...who is that person you're with after?" Kakashi asked.

"The legacy of the fourth hokage." Itachi answered.

"Naruto?" Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma all exclaimed.

"Kisame, get rid of them." Itachi ordered.

"Gladly!" Kisame said and then rushed toward the three when suddenly...

"Goriku Konoha Senpuu (Strong Leaf Hurricane)!" Gai yelled out as he intercepted Kisame with a roundhouse kick to the face, knocking the swordsman.

"Who the hell are you?" Kisame asked he got back up.

"I'm Konoha's Blue Beast, Maito Gai." Gai said with a smile that had the usual ping.

"More like Konoha's chicken shit to me." Kisame grinned.

"Don't underestimate him." Itachi said.

'So he's here.' Gai thought. He then turned to Kakashi who had fallen to the ground, "Why did they do to you?" Gai asked as he grabbed Kakashi.

"Close your eyes or you'll get caught in his jutsu." Asuma said.

"Relax, I know what I'm doing. After fighting Kakashi for so long, I'm used to the Sharingan. Now, open your eyes." Gai said.

"But..." Kurenai started to say.

"All you have to do is look at his feet. You can tell what a Sharingan user can do by looking at their feet." Gai explained.

"Hmm, that makes sense but it's easier said than done." Kurenai said as she opened her eyes again.

"We haven't had all your training Gai." Asuma said.

"I know that but you'll just have to try your best. Kurenai, I want you to take Kakashi to the hospital. Asuma, you'll be my backup until the ANBU I sent word for arrive." Gai said as he gave Kakashi to Kurenai before getting into his stance.

"Got it." Asuma smirked as he got ready.

"You guys got alot of guts." Kisame said with a grin.

"You two stop. We're done so let's go." Pein said as he was right beside Itachi, shocking the jounins.

'Who the hell is this guy? I didn't even sense him until he spoke.' Gai thought

"You must be the guy that Itachi said was after Naruto. What did you do to him?" Asuma asked.

"That's none of your concern but all you need to know is that he's still alive, at least for now. You two, let's go." Pein answered and then all three of them left.

* * *

"So, how did it go?" Kisame asked.

"Not too bad. He's weak for now but he's being trained by Jiraiya the Toad Sannin and thus should get much stronger." Pein answered.

"But why not kill him now? After all, he is said to be the one destined to kill you." Kisame asked.

"Because Kisame, I can never be killed. No matter what these prophecies say, I will never die because I am a god. The only reason why I am interested is to see if that boy can become the ultimate prey for my judgement." Pein explained.

"I see." Kisame said.

"By the way, was my Itachi clone good enough?" Pein asked, causing Kisame's eyes to widen as he dispelled the Itachi clone.

"He was just a clone?" Kisame asked.

"Yes he was. I created him using a special clone technique that enabled it to imitate all of Itachi's justus with ease." Pein answered.

"But then, where is the real Itachi?" Kisame asked.

* * *

"K-Y-O! That's Kyo! Kyo is the greatest ninja in the world, Kyo is the greatest nin-ja in the world! Oh yes he is, yes he is! Kyo is the greatestninja of all! And everyone loves him because he is the greatest..." Kyo sung as he and Sasuke were walking down the road as they came close to a town.

"For the love of Kami, WOULD YOU SHUT THE HELL UP?! You've been singing for thirty minutes and what's worse, the song sucks!" Sasuke yelled at the older Uchiha.

"It does not suck Uchiha Sasuke, and I'm offended to even say such a thing." Kyo replied as he was offended.

"My my little brother. It seems you've gotten a potty mouth while I was away." Itachi said as he appeared 10 ft from both Uchihas.

"Well would you look at that? It looks like Christmas came early for me." Sasuke said with a dangerous smirk on his face.

* * *

To Be Continued...

Sakura: Are you okay. Naruto-kun? I heard you got into a big fight and got hurt and, and...

Naruto: I'm okay Sakura-chan but you have to do the previews this time.

Sakura: Oh right. Anyways, it looks Sasuke finally faces off with his brother Itachi but things don't seem to bode well for Sasuke as his brother looks too strong but don't expect Sasuke to give up that easily as he's going all out. And also, Jiraiya tells Naruto that they're going on a mission to find a Godaime but if they expect to go by themselves then they got anothing thing coming because I'm going too Shannaro! All that and more next time on Namikaze Hokage

Jiraiya: Oh yeah! Looks like you get yourself quite a girlfriend, Naruto. GOOD JOB!

Naruto: Urusai ero-sennin!

AN: As always, read and review and I hope you guys enjoyed the fight.


	21. Author

Author's Note

No, I am not stopping my fanfic if that is what you are thinking. There's no way I am considering the plans I have for it especially after the time-skip. The reason I am writing this note is to first thank all of my faithful readers for their encouragement and constructive criticism. Without you guys I don't think I would have continued so I thank you.

Second and the main point of this note is to let you know that I will be rewriting the chapters. I won't change them completely but I will refine, add or substract from them since there are some things I could have done better and some things I shouldn't have added. So expect to see them in a couple of days from now.

Have a merry Christmas and God bless,

NamikazeNaruto.

EDIT: I am not taking down my story and rewriting it from scratch, I'm just editing it. The chapter count will be the same, it's just that some chapters will be edited.


	22. Brothers

Author's Note: Naruto nor the characters of the story belong to me unfortunately and belong rather to Kishimoto Masashi. All I am doing is writing another version of his story according to my creative vision.

"By the way, was my Itachi clone good enough?" Pein asked, causing Kisame's eyes to widen as he dispelled the Itachi clone.

"He was just a clone?" Kisame asked.

"Yes he was. I created him using a special clone technique that enabled it to imitate all of Itachi's justus with ease." Pein answered.

"But then, where is the real Itachi?" Kisame asked.

"K-Y-O! That's Kyo! Kyo is the greatest ninja in the world; Kyo is the greatest nin-ja in the world! Oh yes he is, yes he is! Kyo is the greatestninja of all! And everyone loves him because he is the greatest..." Kyo sung as he and Sasuke were walking down the road as they came close to a town.

"For the love of Kami, WOULD YOU SHUT THE HELL UP?! You've been singing for thirty minutes and what's worse, the song sucks!" Sasuke yelled at the older Uchiha.

"It does not suck Uchiha Sasuke, and I'm offended to even say such a thing." Kyo replied as he was offended.

"My my little brother. It seems you've gotten a potty mouth while I was away." Itachi said as he appeared 10 ft from both Uchihas.

"Well would you look at that? It looks like Christmas came early for me." Sasuke said with a dangerous smirk on his face.

* * *

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 21: Brothers

_Flashback:_

_A younger Sasuke walked up to his brother who was putting on his shoes._

_"Brother..." Sasuke said to get his brother's attention._

_"What is it?" Itachi asked as he turned to look at his brother._

_"Well I was wondering if you could help me with my shuriken practice after school." Sasuke asked shyly._

_"No I can't, I'm busy. Besides, I'm sure father can teach you" Itachi replied, causing Sasuke to frown._

_"Fe, even I know you're better at the shuriken technique than father is. Why do you always treat me like a pest? Am I a burden to you?" Sasuke asked. He then saw his brother do a moving motion with his hand that indicating that he wanted Sasuke to move toward him. Sasuke smiled as he saw what his brother was doing and moved forward only to be hit in the forehead by Itachi's fingers._

_"I'm sorry Sasuke. Next time, ok?" Itachi said._

_Sasuke frowned but then noticed the intense glare that was on his brother's face._

_"I don't have time to take care of you today." Itachi said._

_"All the time, always saying "Forgive me Sasuke." then poking me on the head. Then saying "today." I never see it." Sasuke said to his brother as the latter was leaving the house. Sasuke then smiled as he saw his brother leave, proud of him._

_Later, Sasuke is eating breakfast with his father while his mother was doing the dishes._

_"Father, why doesn't Itachi want to hang out with me?" Sasuke asked._

_"That guy is strange. He's not the type to make friends..." Fugaku replied._

_"Why is that?" Sasuke asked._

_"Even I, his own father, can't understand him. He's a book full of mysteries." Fugaku answered with a sigh._

_"Here's your lunch Sasuke. I will see you after your Shuriken lesson." Mikoto smiled as she handed lunch to her son._

_"It's not a lesson, mother. It's training." Sasuke replied as he took his lunch and headed off._

_'At age 7, Itachi had already graduated from the academy. Then at 8, he activated his Sharingan for the first time. And then at 10, he became chunnin. Meanwhile, I'm 8 and still at the Academy. We're definitely not all alike,' Sasuke thought but then said, "However, I got the same Uchiha blood running through me as he does. Brother will not defeat me!" _

_Eventually, day turned into night as the sun went down. _

_'I'm really late from training. Hopefully mother and father will forgive me.' Sasuke thought as he entered the compound. He then felt a presence and looked up at a post in front of him but saw no one, 'W...what is this feeling?' Sasuke thought. His eyes then widened as he saw members of his clan dead on the ground._

_"What's going on here? This is..." Sasuke asked as he saw the scene. He then ran toward his house and stopped at the front door, "Father! Mother!" Sasuke yelled._

_"Sasuke, don't come in..." His father said but then his voice was silenced._

_'Move! Move! Move!' Sasuke thought as his kegs were trembling. He was finally able to make them move and he then stepped up and opened the door, only to see his parents dead on the ground._

_"Father! Mother!" Sasuke yelled. He then looked up and saw that the one responsible was none other than Uchiha Itachi._

_"Brother! Why, why did you do all this?" Sasuke asked only to be scratched by a flying shuriken._

_"How foolish of you, little brother. Mangekyou Sharingan." Itachi said and then his special doujutsu activated and showed the massacre to his little brother._

_"Stop it little brother! Please STOP!!!!!" Sasuke yelled._

_End Flashback_

"Uchiha Itachi..." Sasuke growled.

'This isn't good at all. But still...' Kyo thought, "Itachi, why are you here?" Kyo asked.

"My master sent me here to investigate this little dragon." Itachi responded.

"Why?" Kyo asked.

"While my brother is not a current threat in my master's plans, his growth and skills still need to be assessed and also, his growth has been exponential." Itachi said.

"I don't care about this master of yours Itachi! All I want to do know is fight you right here and now!" Sasuke growled.

"Calm down Sasuke! This guy is way out of your league." Kyo ordered.

"**Shut up.**" Sasuke said glaring darkly at his sempai, "This is what I've been waiting for ever since that day and I'm not going to back down now! I don't care how strong is his, the moment I decided to kill him was the moment I decided to stake my life on it!" Sasuke added and then ran toward Itachi and threw a volley of punches that Itachi was able to block with ease. Sasuke then threw a roundhouse kick aimed at Itachi's face but the latter was able to jump back to avoid the kick. Sasuke recovered from his attack and then went through a number of seals,

"Katon: Gokyakuu No Jutsu!" Sasuke yelled out and fired his fireball technique that engulfed Itachi.

"Good brother but not good enough." Itachi said as he was right behind Sasuke.

'He must have performed Kage Bushin as he jumped back.' Sasuke thought. He tried to spin around and attack but Itachi was quicker and knocked his brother into the riverbank with a roundhouse kick.

"Too slow, brother." Itachi said as he was right next to him and then blew up.

'Bakeretsu Kage Bushin...' Kyo thought.

"It seems you're faster than I thought little brother." Itachi, the original, said as he looked up to see his brother in mid-air.

"Katon: Housenka No Jutsu" Sasuke yelled and unleashed a volley of fireballs at Itachi.

"Suiton: Suidan No Jutsu." Itachi calmly said without looking at his brother's attack and then water bullets erupted from the river and cancelled out the fireballs. Sasuke then dived down at his brother with an axe kick but Itachi grabbed it with his right hand. Sasuke tried to him again with a roundhouse kick using his right leg but Itachi used his left hand to grab. Sasuke then tried to punch Itachi but before he could, he was slammed hard to the ground only to poof in smoke. He then turned to see his brother a few feet behind him.

'I see. He must have performed Kage Bushin right before my bushin exploded and then swam underneathwhile his clone was used as a decoy to divert me from him.' Itachi thought.

'Clever Sasuke. With the Kage Bushin performing real jutsus and attacking like Sasuke, he was able to keep Itachi occupied long enough for him to resurface.' Kyo thought.

"Itachi...this the moment I have been waiting for. Now die by my hand! Chidori!" Sasuke yelled as he charged up the Chidori. Sasuke then ran toward Itachi and thrusted his attack forward only for Itachi to deflect it to the brick wall creating a crater.

'Shit...He deflected it!' Sasuke thought.

"Pathetic." Itachi said and snapped his brother's hand, causing him to yell in pain.

"Zankyaku!" Sasuke said and then unleashed an electric cutting wave from his leg but Itachi was able to dodge it effortlessly and then backhanded Sasuke into the wall. He then grabs his brother by the collar and holds him to the wall.

"Do you know why you're so weak, little brother?" Itachi asked and then leaned into Sasuke's right ear, "It's because you lack hatred." Itachi said before pulling back.

"And you know what big brother? You can kiss...my...ass." Sasuke replied with a grin and then spits on his brother's face.

"I see you're still rude as ever, a regrettable attribute. Nevertheless, I will show you something you've never seen before." Itachi said and then closed his eyes for a minute and re-opened them again, this time with the symbol of a dragon on each pupil.

'That's!' Kyo thought as he recognized the doujutsu.

"Kuroiryuu Sharingan (Black Dragon Sharingan)." Itachi said and was about to attack when Kyo appeared right in front of him with his dragon sharingan activated staring into Itachi's.

"I believe this is enough for now." Itachi said as he cancelled his Sharingan.

"Did Madara give it to you?" Kyo asked.

"What Madara-shishou (master) did is none of your business Kyo-san. I was only sent as reconnaissance and I have accomplished that." Itachi said before shunsuing into the river, "It seems that the dragon prophesized to kill him is nothing more than an insignificant nuisance." Itachi added on before disappearing away.

"It looks like you're not making things easy for me, huh aniki?" Kyo said as he then took out a cigarette and light it up. He then turned to Sasuke who was unconscious, "Not the way I expected things to go so far but now, we can get you marked for your destiny, Uchiha Sasuke." Kyo said. He grabbed Sasuke and then used shunshin to arrive at the town.

* * *

He then enters a temple where a young girl with dark green hair, black eyes, hair tied in buns and wearing a red oriental dress with sandals greeted them.

"My master is in this room. Follow me Kyosuke-sama." The girl said with a smile. Kyo nodded and followed her into the room of her master. The said master was actually a cat dressed in a ninja uniform with a pipe in its right hand.

"Ha Kyosuke, you're right on time for a change." The cat ninja said.

"It's been a while Ukyo." Kyo said as he sat down with his legs crossed and laid Sasuke next to him.

"So that's the boy talked about in the prophecy I assume?" Ukyo asked as he looked at Sasuke.

"Yes and he's also the last of his clan other than his older brother." Kyo answered.

"Ah yes, the Uchiha Massacre caused by Uchiha Itachi. I assume you already know that Madara was behind it right?" Ukyo asked as he blew a cloud of smoke from his pipe.

"That's what I believe and this became much clearer as Itachi appeared toward us under the orders of Madara." Kyo said as he recalled the events.

"Hmm, this isn't good at all." Ukyo said as he shook his head.

"Hence why I came here in order for Sasuke to receive the mark of the dragon and awakened his own Ryuu Sharingan." Kyo said.

"I see. Mai, please prepare the boy for the marking." Ukyo asked. The young green-haired girl nodded and took Sasuke with her to another room, "You know Kyosuke, and this would have never happened if you have just killed him decades ago." Ukyo said.

"I know but this isn't just anyone, he's my brother, my older brother." Kyo said as his face saddened.

"And it is because of that foolish brotherly attachment that all of this is happening and why this vicious cycle is repeating. Because of your actions, these two brothers now found themselves as enemies and because of your foolish actions, both Haruka and Kai were killed...!" Kyo suddenly lunged his hand at Ukyo's neck and started to squeeze it.

"I told you to never talk about this again!" Kyo said with a furious look on his face and his Sharingan on.

"E...even if you do this...it changes nothing...because of your foolishness, your wife and son were both killed by Madara... and that is something you can never erase." Ukyo replied. Kyo's features saddened and his Sharingan turned off before letting go of Ukyo's neck.

"I know, you're right. But that's why I want to make right with Sasuke." Kyo said.

"You do know you will die in 3 years from now, do you not?" Ukyo reminded the Uchiha.

"I am already aware of that and that's why I'm risking it all on Sasuke." Kyo smirked.

* * *

"I can't believe this happened to Kakashi." Asuma said as he and the other jounins were in a hospital room looking over Kakashi who was lying unconscious on a hospital bed.

"The bigger question is, who was that friend of theirs and why was he after Naruto." Kurenai asked.

"His name is Pein and is the leader of Akatsuki." Jiraiya said as he entered the room.

"Master Jiraiya!" Gai and Asuma exclaimed in surprise.

"Wait Akatsuki? That's the name of the organization Kakashi said that Itachi and Kisame belonged to. Who or what is it exactly?" Kurenai asked.

"It is an organization made up of nine S-ranked criminals that hunt down forbidden jutsus, bounties, and also doing illegal works and assassinations. Lately however, they have been on the hunt for special individuals who possess special types of chakras, jinchuurikis." Jiraiya said.

"Jinchuuriki?" Kurenai repeated.

"It is a name given to those who contain a tailed beast inside of them like Naruto for example." Jiraiya explained, "However that is secondary to what was the real purpose for them coming here." Jiraiya added on.

"What was the real purpose then?" Gai asked.

"In a few years from now a battle for the future of the ninja world will take place between the destroyer and the savior, darkness and light. Each can change the ninja world for the better or worst and Pein is said to be the destroyer while Naruto is said to be the savior and in the end, Naruto will defeat Pein." Jiraiya said.

"And I guess this Pein guy came here to check up on his competition. Hmm, I knew the little guy was destined for great things considering who is old man was but this is more than I expected." Asuma said as he took in all of what Jiraiya said.

"But why didn't Pein just kill Naruto when he had the chance?" Kurenai asked.

"He probably believes that Naruto is not a threat to him or that he is someone so strong that he doesn't seem himself dying at all no matter how strong Naruto becomes." Gai answered.

"Nevertheless, I'm going to take Naruto under my wings from now on so you don't have to worry about his well-being for now. Now, what happened to Kakashi?" Jiraiya asked.

"One minute he was fighting Itachi and the next he was on the ground." Asuma answered.

"Though he did tell us to close our eyes and not to open them at all for some reason." Kurenai added.

"Which means Itachi used his special Sharingan on Kakashi. If that's the case then this makes it a much bigger need for her selection as the Godaime." Jiraiya thought.

* * *

_Konoha was in ruins, flames and dead bodies everywhere as Naruto walked around it._

_"W...what happened? Where's everyone?" Naruto asked as he looked around._

_He then tripped on a body and looked at who it was only for his eyes to widened in horror as it was Iruka-sensei._

_"Iruka-sensei! This can't be happening!" Naruto yelled. He then heard the sound of people fighting and headed toward that direction only to see Kakashi dead on the ground, decapitated, and Sasuke and Sakura fighting against Pein. _

_"Both of you! Get away now!" Naruto yelled as he tried to warn his friends but it was hopeless as they continued to fight. Sasuke tried to hit Pein with a Chidori but Pein grabbed Sasuke's attack with his right hand and then punched Sasuke through the heart with his left fist, killing the last Uchiha. _

_"SASUKE!" Naruto yelled._

_Pein then grabbed Sakura and looked at Naruto with an evil grin on his face._

_"NO! Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled and started to run over there but it was too late as Pein plunged his right hand into her heart, killing her._

_"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Naruto screamed._

_End Dream_

"PEIN!!!" Naruto yelled as he woke up in his hospital room.

"Naruto-kun, are you okay?" Sakura asked as she was sitting beside his bed.

Naruto looked at her for a while before looking out the window and saw that Konoha was still as beautiful as it was. He then breathed a sigh of relief.

"It was just a nightmare." Naruto said.

"I'm so glad you're alright, Naruto-kun!" Sakura said as she hugged him, surprising the Namikaze boy.

"S...Sakura-chan?" Naruto stammered, blushing.

"I saw you when that man named Jiraiya brought you to the hospital. You looked so bad that I thought you wouldn't make it and that's why I came here but you're alright now." Sakura said with a smile.

"You shouldn't worry yourself like that about me Sakura-chan. I'm not going to die soon, I promise." Naruto said.

"If that's what you're going to promise to her then you might want to get stronger, Naruto." Jiraiya said as he entered the room.

"Ah, Jiraiya-san." Sakura greeted.

"Ero-sennin." Naruto greeted the sannin with his nickname causing the older man to growl

"I told you not to call me that!" Jiraiya yelled.

"Why do you call him that Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked.

"Because he's a super-pervert." Naruto answered.

"A super-pervert? At his age? That's repulsive!" Sakura said, causing Jiraiya to go cry in a corner.

"So why are you here for, ero-sennin?" Naruto asked.

"I came here to tell you that you're coming with me on a trip." Jiraiya said with a grin.

"A trip? Why don't I like the sound of that?" Naruto asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh trust me kid, it'll be a good trip. You see, you and I are going to go look for a woman, a very remarkable woman I might add." Jiraiya grinned.

'A woman!' Sakura thought angrily

"Look ero-sennin, I don't have time to help you look for a girlfriend. I got training to do." Naruto said.

"What training?" Jiraiya asked confused

"You know what I'm talking about! I have to start training so that I can beat him." Naruto growled as he clenched his fists as he reminisced about his fight against Pein.

"How about this then? If you help me find that woman, then I'll teach you all that I know" Jiraiya said, smiling proudly.

"So you basically using my want for training as a way to get me to go with you, aren't you?" Naruto asked.

"Exactly!" Jiraiya grinned.

"You really are shameless, ero-sennin." Naruto said and then sighed, "I might as well come with you." Naruto said.

"Alright! Just let me get you discharged and we'll be on our way!" Jiraiya said.

"Wait! Naruto, you can't go! You just got in the hospital and besides, why come with him just to find a woman?" Sakura asked.

"Oh but you see Sakura-chan, this woman is not just any ordinary woman. That woman is another of the legendary sannin, the slug mistress and queen of elixirs, the woman I am talking about is none other than Tsunade herself." Jiraiya said with a smirk.

"Tsu…Tsunade? KYAHHHHH! Please let me come with you, Jiraiya-sama!" Sakura said, squealing like a schoolgirl.

'You sure can change attitudes quickly, Sakura-chan.' Naruto thought as a sweatdrop appeared behind his head.

"Hmm…sure but on one condition." Jiraiya said as he started to grin lecherously.

"**Don't even think about it, ero-sennin.**" Naruto growled darkly with his Kyuubi eyes, causing the older man to sweat in fear.

"H…hai. Nevermind, Saura, you can come up with us." Jiraiya said.

"Thank you so much! Wait right here guys, I'll go tell my mom." Sakura said excited and ran off.

"You sure got yourself quite a girlfriend, Naruto." Jiraiya said as he gave Naruto a thumbs up.

"Urusai, ero-sennin." Naruto said, blushing.

* * *

A few hours later, all three of them were at the gate of the village, each with their belongings ready.

"Alright people, let's go!" Jiraiya said.

"This is so going to be awesome! I'm finally going to meet the legendary Tsunade!" Sakura exclaimed.

"By the way, why are we going to meet her? I mean, there has to be a special reason behind all this?" Naruto asked Jiraiya.

"I'm glad you asked Naruto. The reason why we are going to look for this woman is because she's going to become the Godaime." Jiraiya answered.

"NANI?!!!" Both Sakura and Naruto yelled at the same time, shocked.

"If she's going to be chosen as the Godaime then she must be an incredible and wise woman." Naruto said.

"Well, I wouldn't say all that now." Jiraiya said.

"And why is that?" Naruto asked, intrigued.

"Well, she's annoying and a compulsive gambler, well-known throughout the countries." Jiraiya started to say

"Then she should be easy to find if she's so famous." Sakura said.

"Oh she's famous alright. You see, she's known as the legendary…" Jiraiya said grinning.

* * *

"Alright boys, I want to turn all my money into chips." A woman with blonde pigtails and a green vest with a red circle and a kanji inside of it, grey shirt, blue pants, brown eyes, and black shoes said as she was in a room with other men. That woman was Tsunade.

"This person…" The leader of the men said

"You know who this person is, boss?" One of the men asked.

"You mean you don't know this person's nickname?" The leader asked.

"Nickname?" The men asked.

"Her nickname is the legendary…sucker!" The leader revealed and this caused everyone of them to grin.

"Gah! Look at how happy they are already!" a black-haired girl wearing a black robe with a fishnet shirt underneath, black eyes and holding a pig in her arms. That girl's name was Shizune.

* * *

"Also, she uses a special jutsu to change her appearance to make herself look like she's twenty even though she's as old as me so it won't be easy to find her. And also, she changes her appearance to any age just to get away from her gambling debts." Jiraiya said.

"That's not very good." Naruto said.

"Tsunade always loved to gamble ever since her teen years. Unfortunately, she had neither luck nor skill and thus sucked. She thus gained the nickname "Sucker" ever since. Back then, she was always borrowing money and running afterwards." Jiraiya said, laughing.

"Enough of this reminiscing, ero-sennin. How are we going to find her anyway?" Naruto asked.

"Since we're going by foot, there are many ways of doing it but unfortunately, it will take us some time." Jiraiya said.

"Not if I do this. Kage Bushin No Jutsu." Naruto said and then did his favorite technique and created dozens of clones, "Do you have any pictures of her?" Naruto asked.

"Sure." Jiraiya said and gave Naruto some of Tsunade's pictures.

"Alright clones go up ahead and try to look for her in any of the towns. If you find any clue, just cancel yourselves out so that I can get the information, understood?" Naruto asked his clones.

"Understood." The clones all said and then each took a picture and headed off.

"Wait Naruto. Isn't this a bit unsafe considering the distance between yourself and your clones?" Sakura asked.

"Not really Sakura-chan. I have been training with my clones for so long that they have become much stronger than any other clones and thus can travel very far and not pass out." Naruto answered.

'You continue to impress me, Naruto. No wonder you'll surpass your old man.' Jiraiya thought.

* * *

"MY ARM!" Orochimaru roared in pain from his arms.

"Orochimaru-sama, please take your medicine quickly!" The medic told Orochimaru only to be ripped apart mercilessly by the snake sannin.

"Aw, I have to clean the room the moment I get back? Please take your medicine immediately…" Kabuto said as he entered the room.

"I don't need that crappy kind of medicine." Orochimaru growled.

"I mixed the medicine myself. It should make you at least feel a bit better." Kabuto replied.

"This burning pain in my arms…I never expected so much." Orochimaru said

"That curse was given to you by Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage. The pain is to be expected after all." Kabuto said.

"No need for explanations. By the way, did you find her?" Orochimaru asked.

"Yes I did. It seems she's at a place called Tankazu-Gai." Kabuto said.

"Tankazu Street….is that so…" Orochimaru said.

"However, it won't be so easy to capture her." Kabuto added.

"The best cure is always the hardest one to find." Orochimaru smirked darkly.

* * *

"Ah, my clones found her whereabouts." Naruto said.

"And where is she?" Jiraiya asked.

"In a place called Tankazu Street. Also, the guy who told my clone the info added that she lost against him and his boys in a gambling game." Naruto replied.

'She lost again….Geez, when will she learn?' Jiraiya thought as he was embarrassed at his ex-teammate's misfortune.

"Tankazu Street is pretty far from here so we will use this. Kuchiyose No Jutsu!" Jiraiya said and then slammed the ground with his palm as he initiated the technique. Then, a green frog with red hair appeared.

"My friends, this is Hayaya, the running frog. He is my fastest frog and will get us to Tankazu Street much faster than if we were to go by foot." Jiraiya said.

"There's no way I'm traveling on that thing!" Sakura yelled, repulsed.

"And why is that?" Jiraiya asked

"THAT'S BECAUSE I'M A LADY!" Sakura yelled.

"Sakura-chan, we have to find Tsunade as soon as possible in order to make her the Godaime. Besides, you can always lean on me while we're traveling on it." Naruto said with a smile.

"O…Okay, Naruto-kun." A blushing Sakura said.

'That kid is a mere reflection of his father. Not only is he a genius ninja but he is also blessed with skills when it comes to woman….Why didn't I get those skills too?' Jiraiya cried mentally.

"Alright ero-sennin, let's get moving!" Naruto said as he and Sakura hopped on the frog.

"Hayaya, go forth!" Jiraiya said as he hopped on the frog. The frog nodded and then headed off at a fast speed.

* * *

"This time…my arms will be healed." Orochimaru said as he and Kabuto were leaving Orochimaru's home.

"Even though it's a good cure, that person will not let you have it so easily." Kabuto said.

"I don't care, we're going to Tanzaku Street now!" Orochimaru replied.

* * *

"I can't believe it! You got triple sevens! How rare!" Shizune exclaimed as Tsunade got triple seven at one of the arcade machines.

"How could I get triple sevens?" Tsunade asked, 'I have a bad feeling about this.' Tsunade thought

"What's wrong? It's a miracle that you actually won but yet you look so unhappy." Shizune said.

"I have a bad feeling about this place. Let's get out of here fast." Tsunade said as she looked distraught.

"But this is a beautiful place and there's more to explore like the castle and…" Shizune replied.

"Alright we'll explore them but we'll do it quickly and then get out of here ASAP." Tsunade decided.

* * *

What bad feeling is Tsunade having about this place? Find out next time on Namikaze Hokage!

Author's Note: I really apologize for such a crappy chapter (by my standards) but it's just that I REALLY do not like the Tsunade arc at all, I truly don't and I see that it is affecting my writing and for that I apologize. I'm really thinking about skipping some parts to make it go faster so I can get to the Rescue Sasuke arc and then my original filler arcs (which I promise will be 100 times better than the fillers in the anime) in order to show the development of everyone during the skip. Don't worry though, I will not butcher this arc since I do have a surprise fight in mind but I will go through it faster than the chunnin exam.

But anyway, read and review as always.


	23. Unforgivable

Author's Note: As always, Naruto belong to Kishimoto Masashi, not me. The only things that belong to me are the original jutsus and OC's.

"Alright ero-sennin, let's get moving!" Naruto said as he and Sakura hopped on the frog.

"Hayaya, go forth!" Jiraiya said as he hopped on the frog. The frog nodded and then headed off at a fast speed.

"This time…my arms will be healed." Orochimaru said as he and Kabuto were leaving Orochimaru's home.

"Even though it's a good cure, that person will not let you have it so easily." Kabuto said.

"I don't care, we're going to Tanzaku Street now!" Orochimaru replied.

"I can't believe it! You got triple sevens! How rare!" Shizune exclaimed as Tsunade got triple seven at one of the arcade machines.

"How could I get triple sevens?" Tsunade asked, 'I have a bad feeling about this.' Tsunade thought

"What's wrong? It's a miracle that you actually won but yet you look so unhappy." Shizune said.

"I have a bad feeling about this place. Let's get out of here fast." Tsunade said as she looked distraught.

"But this is a beautiful place and there's more to explore like the castle and…" Shizune replied.

"Alright we'll explore them but we'll do it quickly and then get out of here ASAP." Tsunade decided.

* * *

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 22: Unforgivable

"Tell me something Naruto. When you fought with Pein, what did you notice about him the most? What attribute did you notice that made him so strong?" Jiraiya asked as they were riding on Hayaya.

"Well, I did notice how painfully faster and stronger he was than me but I would say that what I noticed was that he somehow knew all of my moves, like he was reading my mind." Naruto answered.

"And do you know why he was able to read your moves?" Jiraiya asked.

"I would say because I was too predictable." Naruto answered.

"That and he also has years of experience. Many would lead you to believe that simply having a large amount of jutsus makes you strong but in reality, it is how you use Justus and also how experienced you are that matters. One person can have only three jutsus but if they are able to use these jutsus efficiently in any situation, then they can easily overpower someone who has over a hundred jutsus. Also, experience plays a huge part as well because with experience comes wisdom and thus with wisdom, you are prone to know a lot more strategies than someone who lacks experience and thus adapting to your opponent becomes much easier." Jiraiya explained.

"Experience and efficiency…." Naruto whispered.

"By the way Sakura-chan, are you a medic-nin?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yes I am, Jiraiya-san." Sakura answered.

"So it seems the efforts that Tsunade has made have not all been in vain…" Jiraiya said.

"Her efforts?" Naruto asked.

"She was known as the legendary healer and even created the first program for medical ninjas to be included in cells during combat." Sakura explained.

"I see you've done your research. It was thanks to her efforts that it became a special procedure to include a medical ninja in a group of 4." Jiraiya said.

* * *

"Back then, it was so difficult for a group of shinobi to fight without any medical attention. You can't anticipate what might happen in the battlefield which is blindingly obvious." Kabuto said as he and Orochimaru were heading for their destination.

"Hmm…that might be a good system even for veteran fighters. However, such a system would only increase the casualties of war. It's human nature that people won't realize the true value of something until they lose it. And whoever told the story of the medical specialist who's from the group of three legendary ninjas became the victims of that ninja." Orochimaru said

* * *

"I see her efforts were incredible after all." Naruto said.

"Yes and that's what pushed me to become a medic-nin. So that way I can help my nakama in battle." Sakura said.

"I'm sure Tsunade will be glad to see a fellow kunoichi interested in becoming a medic-nin like herself." Jiraiya said with a grin.

"I really just hope nothing bad happens when we get her. I don't know if I could fight right now." Naruto said as he was not totally hundred percent healthy from his fight against Pein.

"Don't worry about it, all we're going to do is tell that we want her to become Hokage and from there, everything should go smoothly." Jiraiya said.

"I really hope you can predict the future, ero-sennin." Naruto replied, not too confident in what the older man said.

"I told you to stop calling me that!" Jiraiya whined.

* * *

"Ahh, Tankazu Castle has such a wonderful view even from the ground. That's why it's called the treasure of arts!" Shizune said as he looked upon the monstrously huge oriental castle.

"Don't waste anymore time. We must get out of here as soon as possible." Tsunade said, getting anxious.

"Aw come on, can't we stay a bit longer?" Shizune asked.

Before Tsunade could reply, the temple suddenly collapsed and a large snake reared its ugly head and on top of it were none other than Orochimaru and Kabuto.

'That's…' Shizune thought as she recognized who it was.

"Orochimaru…" Tsunade growled lowly.

"I finally found you, Tsunade." Orochimaru said.

"If you want to talk then let's go somewhere else." Tsunade said and then they all disappeared and reappeared in an empty street near the castle.

"I've got to say, you sure do know how to make entrance, Orochimaru." Tsunade said.

"I've looked all over for you, Tsunade." Orochimaru said.

"So what do you want with me? I know you did not just come all this way just to talk about the old days. That's more of Jiraiya's style." Tsunade asked her ex-teammate.

"You're right about that. I came here to ask you for a favor." Orochimaru said.

'Erratic heartbeat, his face looks feverish and pale…must have had a long period of exhaustion and that arm…' Tsunade thought as she analyzed Orochimaru's appearance.

"Tsunade-sama, I assume you've already figured it out." Kabuto said.

"Go find someone else. I already quit being a doctor." Tsunade replied.

"You see, we can't do that. This wound is a wound that no else can heal except for the legendary medical specialist and healer herself." Kabuto said.

'Is it some type of special seal or curse?' Tsunade thought, "That wound on your arm is not an ordinary wound…what have you done to it?" Tsunade asked.

"Heh…just a little memento from killing the third…" Orochimaru replied, shocking both Shizune and Tsunade.

"You really are…" Tsunade said angrily.

"Heh now, don't make such an angry face now. Something with form is destined to crumble and the same goes for people. You of all people should know this since you did lose the two you most beloved." Orochimaru said.

'She lost the two people she loved?' Kabuto thought before looking at his master, 'Orochimaru-sama, you're really are cruel.' Kabuto thought.

"Ha ha, those were horrible ways to die." Orochimaru smirked.

Shizune then pulled off her sleeve and launched needles at Orochimaru but Kabuto stepped up and deflected them all with his kunai

'Those were poisoned.' Kabuto thought.

"Calm down Shizune." Tsunade ordered her apprentice.

'That apprentice is good.' Kabuto thought as he looked at Shizune.

"Orochimaru, you haven't changed a bit have you? You know how I am, don't you? Don't kid around with me or…" Tsunade said and then slammed her fist against the wall, crumbling the entire wall down, "I'll kill you." Tsunade said, glaring at Orochimaru.

'Destructive! Single, she's definitely single.' Kabuto thought.

* * *

"What was that?" Sakura asked as she felt the rumble.

"It's Tsunade and her infamous short temper. Alright Hayaya, you can leave." Jiraiya said and the frog nodded before poofing away.

'I just hope she's still around.' Jiraiya thought.

"Hey, isn't Tankazu City sort of a castle city?" Sakura asked.

"You're right, and that's where we should start investigating first. Let's go." Jiraiya said.

* * *

"Look, we're not here to fight, we're here to negotiate." Kabuto said.

"I said it once twerp, get out of my sight." Tsunade said.

"You're the only one who can cure his arm." Kabuto countered and continued, "We're not saying it will be a one-way bargain. Let's make a deal." Kabuto said.

"I'll count to 5 and you better get out by then **or else**!" Tsunade said glaring.

"Please calm down, this won't be a bad barga…" Kabuto started to say before sighing as his efforts were useless as Tsunade counted down to 1.

"I can revive the ones you've lost with the forbidden jutsu I developed." Orochimaru said, stopping Tsunade in her tracks.

"You haven't killed us yet. So does that mean we have a deal?" Orochimaru asked, "Don't you want to meet them again?" Orochimaru added.

'Yuuki…Dan.' Tsunade thought as she reminisced. She then looked up at Orochimaru, "If I cure your arms, what are you planning on doing?" Tsunade asked.

"I hate to lie to you so I guess I'll tell you the truth." Orochimaru said.

* * *

"Hey, so where's that famous castle?" Naruto asked.

"That's a very good question." Jiraiya said as there were no traces of castle at all.

"Just what happened here?" Sakura asked.

"Hey you! What the hell happened?" Jiraiya asked as he saw someone running away.

"You guys should run away now! There's a demon in the city!" The man yelled before running away.

"Demon beast?" Naruto asked.

"This demon you speak of…what is it exactly?" Jiraiya asked.

"It was a huge snake…a huge snake toppled the building instantly." The man answered.

'A huge snake…this isn't good at all.' Jiraiya thought. "We have to move now!" Jiraiya ordered the genins as he ran off.

"Wait up!" Naruto said as he and Sakura followed.

* * *

"Once I get my arms, I'll obliterate the leaf for one last time." Orochimaru said.

"Destroy the leaf village? You're insane!" Shizune growled.

"And your answer is?" Kabuto asked Tsunade.

"Tsunade-sama!!!" Shizune exclaimed as she saw the look on her mistress's face, "You can't! Don't listen to the offers of these liars! Your brother and my uncle wouldn't want you to do this either! Your dreams, you wishes…have you forgotten about them? Are the wishes of two people more…Tsunade-sama! I understand what you're feeling but this is reality and even if you do what they want, it's…" Shizune said, pleading to her mistress.

"Shut up Shizune!" Tsunade replied, cutting off her student.

"You don't have to answer but hopefully, we come to a peaceful resolution. Also, this jutsu requires sacrifices so we will prepare the two bodies for it." Kabuto said.

"Tsunade-sama! Kill these bastards! Orochimaru is weak right now! If we fight together, we can easily overpower them!" Shizune said as she prepared to fight but then stopped when she saw the distraught look on her mistress.

Orochimaru then lifted one of his fingers near his mouth and then bit on it. The finger then started to bleed and blood started to drip from it and then pointed it at Tsunade which suddenly caused her to shiver.

'Damn! He's still one of three legendary sannins so of course he would know about that.' Shizune thought.

"I'm pretty weak now but I still know Tsunade's weakness. It looks like you've still haven't gotten out of your system, your fear of blood." Orochimaru smirked.

'She has hemophobia?' Kabuto thought.

"Tsunade, I anxiously wait for your answer." Orochimaru said and then he and Kabuto left.

* * *

Moments later, Jiraiya and the gang arrived at the scene but there were no signs of Tsunade or Shizune.

"Just a bit too late." Jiraiya said.

"Is this the work of the snake?" Sakura asked as she looked at the damaged wall.

"No, it seems more like the work of a person with incredible strength." Naruto replied as he analyzed it.

"Let's go you two!" Jiraiya said and then they left.

* * *

"BOSS! MORE BEER!" Tsunade yelled out as her and Shizune were at a pub.

"Tsunade-sama, you're drinking too much." Shizune said in order to calm her mistress only for the latter to burp, 'Tsunade-sama.' Shizune thought as she looked at her mistress' state,

"Oh well, let's eat dinner here." Jiraiya said.

"Eat dinner here? Isn't this place not for kids like us?" Naruto asked.

"Don't be so naïve. This place can get us loads of information as well." Jiraiya answered as they entered the pub, "And look who it is! Hey Tsunade!" Jiraiya said as he saw his former teammate.

"Jiraiya…why are you at a place like this?" Tsunade asked.

'So this is Tsunade huh? Doesn't look too impressive to me.' Naruto thought.

'It's really her! Tsunade-sama!' Sakura thought.

"We've finally found you." Jiraiya said as he breathed a sigh of exasperation.

"By the way, I met up with an old friend of ours." Tsunade said as Jiraiya, Sakura and Naruto sat at the table.

"Orochimaru was it? Did anything happen?" Jiraiya asked.

Shizune was able to say something when Tsunade stared her down which did not go unnoticed by Jiraiya

"Nothing really, just a casual greeting." Tsunade lied, "By the way, why are you here exactly?" Tsunade asked.

"I'll get right to business…the council wants you to become the Godaime Hokage." Jiraiya said, shocking Tsunade and Shizune.

"The third is…" Jiraiya began to say but was cut off by Tsunade,

"He's dead, I know. Orochimaru told me he's the one who killed him." Tsunade said.

'So, Orochimaru is the murderer of the third Hokage…He'll pay for this.' Naruto thought.

"By the way, who is Orochimaru anyway?" Naruto asked.

"He was my ex-teammate and a member of the legendary sannins of the leaf." Jiraiya explained.

"But why did he do that then?" Sakura asked.

"Who are those twerps?" Tsunade asked.

"She's Haruno Sakura and the boy here is none other than Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto." Jiraiya said.

'So he's the nine-tailed kid and also their child…' Tsunade thought.

"So what's your answer? Are you willing to accept?" Jiraiya asked.

Tsunade paused as she remembered what Orochimaru had promised her when they met

"So what's your answer Tsunade?" Jiraiya asked.

"Impossible…I decline." Tsunade said, shocking everyone.

"I remember in the past that you used to say the same thing whenever I asked you out." Jiraiya said.

'Is she hesitating because of what Orochimaru said?' Shizune thought.

"Great. So we came all this way to find someone in order to become Godaime only for that same person to decline. So much for a good trip." Naruto fumed.

"Don't be so pessimistic, Naruto. Tsunade here is the only person that can become the Godaime. Not only is she a legendary healer and one of the sannins, but she also has the blood of a Hokage in her as she is the grand-daughter of the first Hokage himself so she is the only appropriate for the job and thus this is an offer she can't refuse." Jiraiya said.

"My grand-father was the Hokage and look where that got him. He died and so did the rest, especially the fourth hokage. He died the fastest, giving up his life for the village. Life is different from money as it can be gambled that easily and whoever puts it at risk is a fool." Tsunade chuckled.

"My grand-father and the Nidaime were focused on bringing peace home more than anything else but as a result, they died in the middle of their dreams like losers." Tsunade added.

"You sure have changed, Tsunade." Jiraiya said, slightly surprised at his teammate's attitude.

"Well, I'm already in my fifties. Age does change people. Anyway, it was the same even for Sarutobi-sensei. No wonder he died, he was too old to even live his dreams." Tsunade said, causing Jiraiya to glare.

"Let me make this clear; Being Hokage is shit and only a fool would only take the job." Tsunade said and then in an instant, Naruto ran across the table and slammed his left fist against the wall, denting it as he glared darkly at Tsunade.

"You and me, outside now! I don't care who you are but anyone who dares smears the name of Hokage will personally get their asses kicked by me!" Naruto roared.

"So you want to fight me huh kid? Alright, I accept your challenge." Tsunade said as she got eye level to Naruto.

'Oh boy, this isn't going to be good.' Jiraiya thought.

* * *

"I can't believe that someone of my caliber is going to fight a scrawny kid." Tsunade said as she and everyone else were outside the pub.

"Don't underestimate me." Naruto growled.

"Naruto-kun, please stop! You don't have to fight her!" Sakura said as she tried to stop her teammate.

"SHUT UP SAKURA! THIS IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Naruto yelled at his teammate, shocking her.

'Judging by her look, it doesn't seem that Naruto yells at her that often. It looks like Tsunade really pushed his buttons.' Jiraiya thought.

"One finger is all I'll need for this." Tsunade said smugly.

"You'll need more than one finger when I'm through with you! I'll make sure you regret ever insulting the Hokages, especially my father!" Naruto yelled out.

'His father?' Both Shizune and Sakura thought at the same time.

Naruto then created a clone and went through a series of hand motions that Jiraiya recognized.

'That's the rasengan! He's actually going to use it on Tsunade?' Jiraiya thought, "Naruto, stop!" Jiraiya said but it was too late.

"FUUTON: Rasengan" Naruto yelled out and then ran toward Tsunade with the jutsu.

"That's too easy for me to defend kid!" Tsunade said as she was about to intercept Naruto when suddenly, the clone Naruto created attached itself onto her from the back

"Idiot, did you forget that I never cancelled my clone?" Naruto asked as he continued to head toward her.

'This is bad!' Jiraiya thought and then started to prepare for a jutsu.

But then, Naruto stopped his rasengan inches from Tsunade and then it dissipated.

"Why did you stop kid?" Tsunade asked as the clone also vanished.

"Because you're not worth it. You talk big but in reality, you're just another fool who has been swallowed by their own self-pity." Naruto said, and then was punched hard in the jaw by Tsunade and sent flying back to Sakura and Jiraiya.

"Shut your mouth kid! You don't know anything!" Tsunade growled.

"Oh but I do and you know what, I'm actually glad you don't want to become the next Hokage. To be honest, if you did become Hokage, then all you would do is taint the very title itself. A person like you who drinks and gambles to avoid facing reality is definitely not someone I would want as Hokage and you know something? Being Hokage isn't a shit job, it's a job in which you put your dreams and life on the line and it's a job only those who can overcome the obstacles of life can take and my father, Namikaze Minato, had what it took but you have nothing that it takes. So go ahead and drink away your misery for all I care, I'm done here." Naruto said and started to walk away.

"Why are you so upset about what I said?" Tsunade asked.

"Because becoming Hokage is my dream and unlike you, I'm willing to sacrifice my life for it!" Naruto said and when he said that, Tsunade was reminded of both Dan and Nawaki who also had the same dreams as Naruto.

"Wait, Naruto-kun!" Sakura said as she followed her teammate.

"Well, that didn't go so well but hey, what don't you and I have a drink for old times' sake? Shizune, go with Naruto and Sakura to find a hotel to stay in" Jiraiya asked

'It's up to your Jiraiya-sama.' Shizune thought before running to catch up to the genins.

"Sorry for the delay." The bartender said as he gave Jiraiya and Tsunade their drinks.

"You've become even more beautiful." Jiraiya said.

"Stop with this. I know you wanted to talk to me about what happened." Tsunade said.

"It seems I can't hide anything from you. Look, what Naruto said might have been a bit too harsh but he is right. The Hokages risked everything for their dreams and became men of legends, especially Naruto's father. And I know both Dan and Nawaki wanted that same dream but you have to learn to move on with your life and let them, which includes not taking up on Orochimaru's offer of bringing them back to life." Jiraiya said.

"How do you know about this?" Tsunade asked shocked.

"It was easy to figure out. They were your most beloved, you met Orochimaru and Shizune's face just made me put two and two together. I'm a pervert, not an idiot you know." Jiraiya said.

"Why did you bring that brat with you?" Tsunade asked.

"He has the same dream as them don't they? The same conviction and determination to achieve their dream of becoming Hokage. Look Tsunade, I don't think I can ever understand how you feel but know this; You're a leaf kunoichi whether you like or not and if you do accept Orochimaru's offer, then all you will be doing is betraying Dan and Nawaki and your grand-father. Is that what you really want on your conscious, Tsunade?" Jiraiya asked her.

* * *

"I'm really sorry for screaming at you Sakura-chan. It's just that I was so angry, I couldn't control myself." Naruto said as he apologized to his teammate in their hotel room.

"It's okay Naruto-kun. I know you didn't mean it. Though, who was your father really?" Sakura asked.

"My father was Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage." Naruto revealed to her.

'I'm in love with the Yondaime's son? **Jackpot, Shannaro!**' Sakura/Inner Sakura thought.

"I can't believe that I'm the teammate of the Yondaime's son. But why did you never let anyone know about it?" Sakura asked.

"Because I didn't want any special privileges simply because of my lineage. If I told everyone about it then they would have tried to spoil me and the last thing I need in order to achieve my goal is to be spoiled." Naruto explained.

"I could see how that would bother you." Sakura said.

Suddenly, they heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Naruto asked.

"I'm sorry for coming so late Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan but I need to talk to you about Tsunade-sama." Shizune said as she entered the room.

"Sorry but I have seen enough of her to make a fair assessment." Naruto replied.

"No you haven't! Tsunade-sama isn't always like this, it's just that so much has happened to her." Shizune said.

"And this is the part where I'm supposed to cry and feel sorry for her?" Naruto asked sarcastically.

"Why are you so mean to her? She has gone through so much and yet you talk about her like this!" Shizune asked angrily but then was taken aback when Naruto walked up to her.

"It's because she's not the only one who has suffered in life. I was born without a father and a mother to take care of me for my whole life, Sakura's father abandoned her and her own mother hated her for a long time and Sasuke lost his entire clan in one night but you don't see us crying in our own misery. Every shinobi will lose people close to them, it's a fact of life but what makes someone strong is their ability to rise up from it and overcome it. Clearly, her attitude has shown that she has not been able to overcome those losses and if she still can't overcome them at her age, then there's nothing for me to feel sorry for. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get some fresh air." Naruto said and then left the room.

"I'm sorry if he's like this Shizune-san but Naruto-kun is almost never this way though I do understand why he is like this. To see a grown woman like Tsunade just give up on her dreams and then smear the name of Hokage like this must have really made him mad." Sakura said.

"I have really tried to make her see the good side of life but it seems that she is still stuck on the past. I just don't know what to do anymore." Shizune said as she slumped on the ground.

"Don't worry Shizune, I'm pretty sure she'll see it too. By the way, are you her apprentice?" Sakura asked.

"Yes I am." Shizune answered.

"Do you think you can teach me some medical techniques that you learned from her? I'm really huge fan of hers and it's always been my dream to become a medic-nin." Sakura said.

"S…sure." Shizune said with a smile.

* * *

'How….how can I just move on like that? Dan….Nawaki...'Tsunade thought as she then looked at her necklace on top of a rooftop.

_Flashback:_

"_Happy 12__th__ birthday Nawaki." A teenage Tsunade said to her kid brother while they were on a rooftop._

"_I'm no longer a child you know. I don't need a present every birthday anymore." Nawaki said._

"_Yeah right, you're still a kid." Tsunade grinned, "Anyways, hurry up and open it. You'll be surprised at what you find inside." Tsunade told her kid brother._

_Nawaki opened the box and found a green necklace inside._

"_Onee-chan, isn't this…" Nawaki said._

"_Yep, it's the necklace of our grand-father, the first Hokage." Tsunade explained._

"_You're my favorite, one-chan!" Nawaki exclaimed as he hugged his sister._

"_I thought this would suit you best. Nawaki, didn't you always this? Work hard, okay?" Tsunade said._

"_It's not just a necklace…the village is grandpa's necklace and I'll protect it because I am the grandson of the founder of the leaf village!" Nawaki said._

"_Big words there…real men don't take their words back." Tsunade said._

"_I want to be like grandpa, I want to be honored like him because being Hokage is my dream!" Nawaki said._

"_Take off your head protector. There's one last gift for you." Tsunade said._

_Nawaki takes off his head protector and Tsunade then leans and kisses his forehead. The siblings then grinned at each other._

_One rainy night, Tsunade walked up to Orochimaru and Jiraiya who were in the hallway of a building. She started to walk when Jiraiya puts his hand on her shoulder._

"_It's better if you don't look at the body." Jiraiya said._

"_Why does it matter? She won't even be able to recognize it anyway." Orochimaru smirked._

"_That's enough, Orochimaru!" Jiraiya yelled at his teammate._

"_Because we're in the middle of a war, it's always been the ninja way. There were no doctors but children these days get carried away easily especially the day after getting their birthday present." Orochimaru said._

_Ten years later…_

"_First to facilitate the ease of accomplishing missions, the four men small teams in the midst of fighting will have to fight in enemy territory and make individual actions for a long time." Sarutobi said as he and the council were at a meeting with other shinobies._

"_The group's survival rate and probability of success would significantly increase if a medical specialist was assigned to the team. Therefore, I believing that an important task for us to do is to train people on high level medical jutsus and to promote the further development of medical ninjutsu." Tsunade said._

"_As good as this sounds, it will take too much time for us to prepare and unfortunately, the enemy will not wait peacefully!" Sarutobi said._

"_What did you say, old geezer?!" Tsunade yelled._

"_I agree with her. I think that we should use the past to avoid mistakes in the future. Besides, I don't want to waste the lives of our fellow ninjas needlessly." Dan said, leaving Tsunade speechless._

"_Thanks for standing up for me back then." Tsunade said as she found Dan after the meeting._

"…_What you said was right back there." Dan said, causing Tsunade to blush._

"_It's getting late, let me escort you back home." Dan said, smiling._

"_Eh? Is it okay? I mean your house is over there so it's okay…" Tsunade said as she tried to protest.._

"_No matter, I wanted to talk to you for a bit." Dan said._

"_Also, I used to walk this trail to the ninja school to meet my sister so I really like this trail." Dan said smiling._

'_That person…he is like me.' Tsunade thought._

"_Fighting will only make us lost important people. It's not a ninja's job." Dan said as he and Tsunade were talking ironically on the same rooftop she gave her brother his gift._

"_Yea…" Tsunade said._

"_Because in today's world, life and death hangs in the balance. I want to bring peace to calm this warring world. I love the people in the leaf so I will protect them. After my sister died, this ideal motivation so I wish to become Hokage…for the sake of everyone's safety…being Hokage is my dream." Dan said._

_Tsunade was shocked at his proclamation at it reminded her of her little brother's proclamation._

"_Dan…" Tsunade began to say as she then leaned in and kissed him on the forehead, "I want you to accept this please." Tsunade said as she gave him her necklace._

"_Tsu…nade." Dan said as he was lying on a wet ground on a rainy day with a fatal wound_

"_I…don't want to die yet…there are so many things I need to accomplish." Dan said as he was dying._

"_Stop talking Dan!" Tsunade yelled as she tried to revive her boyfriend._

"_I can't die here…" Dan said._

"_Don't worry! I stopped the blood! There is no danger anymore…you'll be saved Dan!" Tsunade said._

"_That's…good." Dan said before closing his eyes for the last time._

"_Damn it! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! I'M TELLING YOU TO STOP!" Tsunade cried as she tried to revive him but to no avail._

"_Stop it Tsunade! It's too late, he's gone." The other jounin told her._

_Tsunade began to tremble and then looked at her bloodied hands and her eyes widened as her hemophobia began to form._

_End Flashback_

"Can I ever move on?" Tsunade asked herself as she was crying.

* * *

"I wonder which will she chooses. If she heals your arms then you will be able to complete your plan for destruction of Konoha and Tsunade will be reunited with her two lovers. However, if she says no…" Kabuto said.

"Looks like I will have to force her then." Orochimaru said smirking.

"Will it be easy?" Kabuto asked.

"Well, I have you to help." Orochimaru replied and this caused Kabuto to smile.

"Heh…you don't have to worry…I know the most when it comes to her, even her weakness, and I'll know that she will agree with the deal for sure. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Orochimaru said before laughing.

To Be Continued…

* * *

Will Tsunade truly agree with the deal? Find out next on Namikaze Hokage!

As always, read and review!


	24. Tsunade's decision

Author's Note: Naruto nor the characters belong to me except for the OC's and original jutsus. The rest all belong to Kishimoto Masashi. All I am doing is using them in a fictional story.

"Can I ever move on?" Tsunade asked herself as she was crying.

"I wonder which will she chooses. If she heals your arms then you will be able to complete your plan for destruction of Konoha and Tsunade will be reunited with her two lovers. However, if she says no…" Kabuto said.

"Looks like I will have to force her then." Orochimaru said smirking.

"Will it be easy?" Kabuto asked.

"Well, I have you to help." Orochimaru replied and this caused Kabuto to smile.

"Heh…you don't have to worry…I know the most when it comes to her, even her weakness, and I'll know that she will agree with the deal for sure. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Orochimaru said before laughing.

* * *

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 23: Tsunade's decision and the decisive battles!

It has been six days since Jiraiya, Sakura and Naruto entered Tanzaku Street and met Tsunade.

'I still don't understand why Jiraiya wanted us to stay here any more than we need to. That bitch already said she didn't want to become Hokage so what's the point in us staying here?' Naruto thought as he was near a waterfall.

"Oh well, I might as well use my time to train. Kage Bushin No Jutsu!" Naruto yelled out and summoned six clones, "Okay guys, here's what we're going to do. We're going to train but we'll only limit ourselves to a set number of moves to use and each must different from others. What we're trying to do is make our fighting style more efficient than before, understood?" Naruto explained.

"Understood." The clones all nodded.

"Then let's go!" Naruto yelled and then they all charged at each other.

* * *

"Hmm, I know Sakura is with Shizune learning medical techniques but where the heck is Naruto?" Jiraiya asked as he was walking around town.

"You look worried, Jiraiya." Tsunade said as she met him.

"Tsunade…" Jiraiya said as he saw his teammate.

"You want to get a drink with me, for old times' sake?" Tsunade asked, smiling.

"Sure." Jiraiya replied.

"So, why did you want to drink for? Are you worried about if what you're doing is the right thing to do?" Jiraiya asked as he was drinking his sake.

While he was doing so, Tsunade was quick enough to put some sort of drug into his drink. Unbeknownst to it, Jiraiya began to drink more and more of it.

The next morning…

"Sir, it's morning! Please wake up already." The manager of the small pub asked Jiraiya, who was knocked out on the seat.

"Yo…huh?" The manager exclaimed as he tried to shake Jiraiya up but the man then fell to the ground, "Hey, what happened to you? You're okay?" The manager asked.

* * *

Last night…

"Hey Shizu…why are those two here?" Tsunade asked her apprentice as she saw Sakura sitting on a chair next to Naruto who was on a bed, covered with bandages.

"Sakura-chan came over in order for me to teach some medical ninjutsu and we found Naruto injured from probably training and thus we decided to take him in so he could be healed." Shizune explained.

"Wait, you're teaching her medical ninjutsu? You over there, why do you want to learn medical ninjutsu?" Tsunade asked Sakura.

"It's because it's always been a dream of mine to become a great medic-nin like you Tsunade-sama, and I also want to protect those I care and love." Sakura said and upon saying the last part of her answer, she glanced at Naruto.

'She's just like me…' Tsunade thought while looking at Sakura sadly.

"How about I help you out?" Tsunade asked smiling.

"Really?" Sakura asked joyfully.

"Of course, it would be my pleasure." Tsunade said.

'Tsunade-sama...' Shizune thought

Hours later, Sakura feel asleep from exhaustion after working on medical ninjutsu and thus Tsunade placed her on a bed next to Naruto.

"Tsunade-sama, you must listen to me please? If…if you're going…" Shizune began to say.

"What will you do?" Tsunade asked.

"Even if it costs me my life, I will stop you!" Shizune yelled.

"Who do you think you're talking to Shizune?" Tsunade asked, glaring at her apprentice.

Shizune got ready but then in an instant, she was knocked to the ground by an invisible blow to the gut as Tsunade left the room and walked away.

* * *

The day of the meeting…

"It could be problematic if there's interference during the exchange." Orochimaru told Kabuto as they were racing back to Tanzaku Street.

"What are you suggesting?" Kabuto asked.

"That apprentice of Tsunade's, it would be best if we kill her." Orochimaru explained.

Kabuto then sported a dark look as he readied his kunai and then veered off-course from where Orochimaru was heading.

"Hmm…why happened?" Naruto asked himself as he woke up. He then found Sakura on a separate bed next to him and Shizune on the ground.

"Hey guys, wake up!" Naruto said as he woke both girls.

"Hmm..where…Oh no! Where's Tsunade-sama?" Shizune exclaimed as she looked around for her mistress.

"Naruto-kun! Sakura-chan! We have to get out of here now!" Shizune told the two genins. Shizune was about leap out of the window when a kunai struck the wall near the window to the right. She turned around and her eyes widened, "You are!" Shizune exclaimed.

"Wait…Shizune." Jiraiya said as he was the one who threw the kunai. Naruto, Shizune and Sakura then went up to meet Jiraiya and helped him sit on the ground

"Damn that Tsunade! She put drugs into my sake yesterday. I can't mold chakra properly and my whole body stings." Jiraiya said as he grimaced in pain.

"Let me guess: She came over to you for a drink and since you couldn't resist her charms and her huge rack considering how much of a pervert you are, you fell right for her trap, didn't you?" Naruto explained with a smirk.

"Shut up you!" Jiraiya yelled, flustered.

"Anyway, even in her fallen state, she's still a medical specialist. She's the only one that could create a tasteless and odorless drug against fellow ninjas and I fell for it." Jiraiya said.

'For that Jiraiya-sama to be here, I will have to report it to Orochimaru-sama immediately. However, I did not expect Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan to be here as well.' Kabuto thought as he saw the them talking. He then moved out but not before Jiraiya noticed him.

"By the way Shizune, you might want to tell us **exactly** what Orochimaru told Tsunade." Jiraiya told the apprentice with a tone that would not take no for an answer.

"Orochimaru?" Sakura repeated.

"I truly wanted to believe that in Tsunade-sama…that's why I couldn't say anything before." Shizune said with her head down.

"Come with me! I'll tell you on the way!" Shizune then said before heading out along with the others.

"So, what's the answer Tsunade?" Orochimaru asked as he and Tsunade were face to face.

"I guess I went too hard on her. But still, her answer had to be no!" Naruto growled.

'I really hope you're right Naruto…and I really hope you follow your mind, not your heart Tsunade. Because if you don't, I might really have to kill you!' Jiraiya thought.

* * *

"I will heal your hands but in exchange, I want you to keep your hands off the village." Tsunade said.

"Heh heh…all right." Orochimaru chuckled.

As she walked toward Orochimaru, memories of her time with Dan and Nawaki flowed through her mind, causing tears to flow down her face.

"Now…" Orochimaru said as they approached each other

* * *

"If his left arm is healed, he will no doubt attack the Leaf again!" Jiraiya yelled as they were running on the trees.

'Damn it!' Naruto thought.

* * *

Orochimaru stretched out his arms painfully and Tsunade started to channel her chakra into a ball in between her hands and was about to apply onto Orochimaru's arms when suddenly, a kunai was shot between them, canceling the exchange as both backed away. The person who threw the kunai was none other than Kabuto, who was on the ceiling of one of the walls. He then jumped down to the ground and began walking toward Orochimaru.

"What is this? To have come this far and betray me huh, Tsunade!" Orochimaru said with his eyes widened in anger.

"How could you try and answer me like this? Trying to kill me?" Orochimaru asked.

"But thanks to you Kabuto, the one I trust with my life, you were able to see her attack and stop it." Orochimaru told Kabuto.

"We are both medic-nins and thus I was able to sense an intense killing intent in her chakra." Kabuto explained.

"Ha…I promised to revive your two beloved for you and I even promised to never attack the Leaf again." Orochimaru said.

"I knew you were lying about that Orochimaru…but even when I knew, I just wanted to touch those two, feel those two, see those two one more time, that I was willing to throw everything away. But then, I met Minato's kid and his female teammate, and to see how strong they were and how much they valued their dreams, it made me realize how selfish and foolish I was acting all this time and how much of a fool I have really been and how much of a fool I would have been if I did what you asked because if I did, I would have betrayed them two as well, those two would put THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE TO ACCOMPLISH THEIR DREAMS!" Tsunade explained, crying.

"So this means the deal is off…Then we'll have no choice but to force you to do it!" Orochimaru said.

Tsunade wiped her tears and then glared at Orochimaru before running toward them at high-speed, jumped and then brought her heel down. The two got out of the way and Tsunade's heel struck the ground, creating a huge crater.

"Your strength is still as legendary as ever." Orochimaru said as he and Kabuto were on the ceiling of one of the walls.

"You bastards! Come out so I can kill you!" Tsunade said as she took off her green jacket and then rushed toward them and destroyed the wall they were standing on.

"Even one hit can end your life…" Orochimaru told Kabuto as they jumped up and landed a few feet away.

"I can tell. However, this place is a bit too crowded for this kind of fight." Kabuto said.

"Do you plan on moving somewhere else?" Orochimaru asked.

"Yes, that would be wise. Besides, there was another troublesome person along with Tsunade's apprentice." Kabuto said.

"Who is it?" Orochimaru asked.

"He's one of the sannins like you." Kabuto answered.

'Jiraiya!' Orochimaru thought as he and Kabuto left.

'I won't let you escape.' Tsunade thought as she chased after them.

* * *

"Well, something big happened here, that's for sure." Naruto said as he and the others arrived on the scene.

"Woah! Tsunade-hime(princess) went off pretty wildly in here." Jiraiya chuckled.

'So, this means Tsunade-sama declined after all?' Shizune thought.

Shizune then puts her pig on the ground who then started to sniff Tsunade's jacket for scent.

"Now Ton-ton, tell us where she went?" Shizune said.

* * *

"Tsunade seems to be running out of breath…it's a good time to use it now." Orochimaru said to Kabuto.

"Although I'm not that strong when it comes to Taijutsu…" Kabuto said as he then took out a purple pill from his pouch and then swallowed it.

'A soldier pill?' Tsunade thought as she saw the pill that Kabuto had swallowed it.

Kabuto then immediately went through a series of seals and his hands were then engulfed in a bluish chakra.

'So this child also knows medical ninjutsu as well.' Tsunade thought.

Kabuto then disappeared and then reappeared near Tsunade from underground and tried to touch her with one of his hands but the sannin was able to jump up to avoid it. She then brought her fist down and struck where Kabuto rose up from but the young medic-nin was able to dodge it and Tsunade's fist struck the ground. Tsunade then kicked the stone where Kabuto was hiding nearby but Kabuto saw it coming and was able to move out of the way as her kick crushed the boulder, and then reappeared behind her as she was still in mid-air and touched her on her left shoulder and left leg but Tsunade was still able to knock him back with a shoulder blow to the chest. However, Tsunade was unable to move.

'My muscles…' Tsunade thought as she noticed what was wrong.

"I've cut your biceps and abdomen muscles so that you won't be able to use that legendary strength of yours." Kabuto explained.

"Chakra scalpels…why didn't just aim for my arteries then?" Tsunade asked.

"Certainly, with this chakra scalpel, I could have severed all of your muscles and blood vessels. However, the problem is that in a long fight, it becomes much harder to me them accurately and it's much harder to hit with a precise scalpel long enough to hit all the way into your arteries. Either way, as long as I aim for your neck, there shouldn't be a problem!" Kabuto explained before dashing toward Tsunade and striking her near her chest. Tsunade then suddenly began to breathe harder and clutch her chest in pain

"Shitt! You hit the muscles near my respiratory area…can't breathe." Tsunade said as he she began to cough, 'This boy is not an ordinary medical ninja. His strength and accuracy well-exceed mine even in my prime.' Tsunade thought.

"It would be troublesome if you were to die now so I didn't aim for your neck but you should still be unable to move." Kabuto said as he pushed his glasses up only to be backhanded on the neck by Tsunade who was able to move.

'What? She's shouldn't be able to move unless somehow, I was unable to get a full hit because of the fat in her breasts?' Kabuto thought as he got up the ground, 'I'll have to be more serious now.' Kabuto thought as he tried to get up but then to his surprise, when he wanted to move his hand, his left leg moved instead, 'What's going on? When I try to move my hand, I move my left leg instead?' Kabuto thought.

"Want to know why? It's because of your nerves! I changed my chakra into electricity and then sent the electric waves into your nervous system!" Tsunade explained.

'I see, so Tsunade basically disrupted the communication from his body to his nervous system completely, basically making his body entirely confused at what to do.' Orochimaru thought.

'To think that she would still have this much power despite not having fought for a long time….I guess this is the power of a sannin.' Kabuto thought.

'Damn, healing wounds consume too much chakra.' Tsunade thought as she healed her wounds.

'If if I try to move my hand, my leg moves. If I try to move my left foot, my right shoulder would move. It's tiresome…but I think I'd figured out how to use 80 of my body now.' Kabuto thought as he slowly got back up. "Don't think that you will defeat me with this level of technique!" Kabuto said as he pulled out his kunai.

'What? He's already figured out how to use his body? Impossible!' Tsunade thought.

"You're afraid of blood, right? Then I'll show you some blood!" Kabuto said as he headed straight for Tsunade but then a cloud of smoke stopped him in his tracks Jiraiya and the gang appeared.

"I'm not surprised to see you here, Kabuto-san, considering** he** told me you smelled like snakes." Naruto said to Kabuto, emphasizing on the he part as he was referring to Kyuubi.

"So I see you know that kid, Naruto." Jiraiya said.

"Move!" Tsunade said as she pushed Jiraiya out of the way and ran toward Kabuto. Kabuto on the other hand grinned and then suddenly slashed his right hand, draping blood on Tsunade which caused her hemophobia to activate once again and thus stun in her tracks.

"Great, now she's afraid of blood?" Naruto growled as he recognized Tsunade's hemophobia.

"I'm finally able to move at 100." Kabuto said, 'and besides, taking on two of the sannins would put me at a great disadvantage.' Kabuto thought. He then punched Tsunade, knocking her back but luckily was caught by Shizune.

"Wait? What the hell is Kabuto doing here and why is he fighting Tsunade?" Sakura asked.

"Despite the fact that he helped us back in the forest of death, he was working for Orochimaru from the get-go and thus was never our friend, Sakura-chan." Naruto explained.

"It's like they say, nothing gets by you, huh Naruto-kun?" Kabuto smirked.

"Don't even start with the being friendly bullshit. Any ally of Orochimaru is an enemy of the leaf and thus my enemy and to be honest, I'm glad you're here. I've been pissed throughout this entire trip and I have been looking for an outlet to unleash my rage against and you look like the perfect candidate." Naruto said, ending with a dangerous smirk.

"Those are big words coming from a little man." Kabuto chuckled.

"Man, you really want to die today, don't you?" Naruto asked, glaring.

"I'm sorry, I recognize your talents but compared to the sannins, you're just a shrimp." Kabuto said.

"Oh is that so? Well, considering we fought the same sannin and I needed only two moves to nearly kill her while you needed to pray on her weakness like a coward, I'm pretty sure I'm more than just a shrimp. Besides, if I could survive against Pein, fighting against you will be a cakewalk." Naruto smirked.

"Why you little brat!" Kabuto growled as he was getting irritated by Naruto's smart comments.

'Just like his father, he's also able to piss off any adversary he faces.' Jiraiya thought.

'That boy fought Pein and is still alive?' Orochimaru thought, as he was shocked to hear about the boy's bout against Pein.

Kabuto then took out a pill and ate it.

'A blood stopping pill?' Shizune thought.

'That guy is a medic-nin after all.' Sakura thought.

"You're bleeding a lot, Kabuto." Orochimaru remarked.

"Please take off your left bandage, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto said.

"Shizune, you handle the guy in glasses while I handle Orochimaru." Jiraiya ordered Shizune.

"I don't think so. Shizune needs to tend to her mistress so she can get back to 100 and help you out against Orochimaru considering your current disposition." Naruto objected.

"You've got a point there. Alright then, you'll take on Kabuto instead." Jiraiya said.

"As much as I would love to smash his face into dirt, I'm afraid I'm going to have to pass. Besides, there's a much better adversary in our ranks to go up against him." Naruto said.

"And who would that be?" Jiraiya asked.

"Sakura-chan will take him on." Naruto said, surprising both Jiraiya and Sakura.

"Look, I admit she's better than most kunoichis her age but she's outmatched in this one." Jiraiya objected.

"Sakura-chan is a medic-nin and also a genjutsu and ninjutsu user. Kabuto may have beaten Tsunade but that's only because he knew of her weakness and because she hasn't fought in a long time. Besides, I should know more about my teammate than you and if I believe she can win against him, then she can. Trust me on this ero-sennin I know what I'm doing." Naruto said with a look that would take nothing against it.

Jiraiya then sighed and grinned,

"Alright then little girl. Your boyfriend trusts you enough to take on that guy, so you better not let us down, got it?" Jiraiya said to Sakura.

"I won't let any of you down, Shannaro!" Sakura said as she put on her black gloves.

Both sides faced each other off and then Kabuto took some of Orochimaru's blood, then wiped it on a tattoo on his arm before slamming his hands to the ground. Jiraiya bit one of his fingers and went through a couple of seals before slamming his hand to the ground

"Kuchiyose No Jutsu!" Both yelled out and while Kabuto was able to summon three large brown-skinned snakes, the best Jiraiya could summon was a small reddish frog.

"What the hell?" Jiraiya yelled out.

"Remind me again as to why you're my teacher?" Naruto asked, embarrassed.

"Shut up you!" Jiraiya told him.

'It looks the drug still hasn't worn off Jiraiya-sama.' Shizune thought as she saw what happened.

"It looks like you still haven't cured that incompetence of yours huh, Jiraiya! If that's the case, then I will attack first!" Orochimaru said.

"Judging by what just happened, it must have been Tsunade's doing. She must have given him a drug to limit his power in order to prepare him as a sacrifice for that jutsu you promised to you." Kabuto said.

'I'll see through this handicap soon enough.' Jiraiya thought.

"As usual, that guy's shamefully indecent." Orochimaru chuckled.

"Let's try it again! Kuchiyose No Jutsu!" Jiraiya said and tried it again, but this time summoned a yellow frog.

"Wow, you're truly something amazing aren't you, ero-sennin." Naruto said as he shook his head.

"How about you stop with the smart comments and start helping me out here!" Jiraiya whined.

"I can't, I don't have a frog summoning contract. You never gave me one." Naruto said.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. My bad." Jiraiya said while scratching the back of his head.

"You're really are hopeless, Jiraiya." Orochimaru said.

"Hey Gamikichi-niisan." The yellow frog said to the red frog.

"What are you doing here, Gamatatsu? You gotta hide before you become lunch for those guys!" The older brother frog said as he pointed to the snakes coming at them.

"You go take on the rest while I take care of Jiraiya." Orochimaru ordered as all three snakes collided into the ground, creating a shockwave that knocked everyone back and created a smoke.

"Your opponent is me, Jiraiya!" Orochimaru said as he was riding his snake near Jiraiya.

'Swamp of the Underworld!" Jiraiya yelled as he created a swamp to cave in the snake but barely.

'I couldn't even create a large swamp and the snake is still moving well' Jiraiya thought as he landed on the snake.

Meanwhile, Shizune shot a couple of needles from her needle thrower located on her arm toward Kabuto who dodged it easily and countered by knocking her back with one of his hands,

"Ninpou: Poison Gas!" Shizune said and then shot a cloud of smoke from her mouth toward Kabuto. However, when the smoke dissipated, Kabuto was nowhere to be seen until his hands shot from underground and grabbed Shizune's legs.

'Gah! The strength in my legs is fading…' Shizune thought as she fell on her knees.

"KAGE BUSHIN NO JUTSU!" Naruto yelled as created hundreds of clones to make the snake in which he and Sakura were trapped in explode.

"Man, I really snakes." Sakura said as she covered in fluids and so was Naruto.

Both Jiraiya and Orochimaru went through a series of seals as Orochimaru dashed toward Jiraiya. Suddenly, his neck elongated and headed toward Jiraiya.

"Underworld Spines!" Jiraiya said as his hair then turned into spikes that protect him almost like an armor. Nevertheless, Orochimaru kicked at Jiraiya and his foot ended up being punctured but that did not stop Orochimaru as he was able to still bite Jiraiya.

'Shit, the technique wasn't that effective.' Jiraiya thought as he winced in pain, "We've both hit each other but if I add a little more…"Jiraiya said.

"Just quit already." Orochimaru replied.

Kabuto had finished with Shizune as he knocked her down with a punch to the face, and when he did, some of Shizune's blood landed on Tsunade's left cheek. Then, flashes of Dan and Nawaki lying dead flashed through her and when Kabuto tries to touch her hand, she deflected it as she tried to back away.

"You…you're so pathetic!" Kabuto growled as he was to punch her when suddenly, he found himself in a field of cherry trees.

"Shit! A genjutsu!" Kabuto cursed and then cancelled it only to see Tsunade in the arms of Naruto.

"Not bad. You used a genjutsu to distract in order to save her. Not bad at all but still not good enough!" Kabuto said as he then dashed toward Tsunade and Naruto when he was suddenly knocked by Sakura who struck him in the left side of his ribs using her own glowing hand.

"I'm your opponent now, Kabuto-san." Sakura said.

"Oh really? It seems I'm being highly underestimated here. Looks I'll have to teach you all a lesson!" Kabuto said.

"I don't think so." Sakura said as she got into her stance.

"So she's a medic-nin as well. I'll have to be careful with her.' Kabuto thought as he dashed toward Sakura.

Sakura ran to meet him upfront and then they started to clash at each other, each trying to cut each other with their scalpel but were unable to land a decisive blow.

'She's fast and also accurate. If I don't put on the defensive, I might actually lose this bout!' Kabuto thought.

"She's actually pushing him…" Tsunade said as she was watching the fight along with Naruto.

"That's because she wants to win. She's putting her entire life and dreams on the line with this fight." Naruto said.

"Her life…and dreams?" Tsunade repeated softly.

"Chakra Shot!" Sakura yelled out and then unleashed a shot of green chakra from her hand toward Kabuto who was struck by it. However…

'He was able to jump back to avoid the full blow.' Naruto said as he saw what Kabuto had done.

'What was that? It was as if she concentrated her chakra into a wave of chakra…not only that but that chakra, there's something in it that makes it…Guah.' Kabuto thought before clutching his stomach.

"My chakra shot is not just a normal chakra attack. The chakra that I fire from it has the ability to replicate a virus or anything biological or medical effect I want. That shot was supposed to completely rearrange your insides but you were able to dodge and thus not get the full effect of it. But this one should end it! Chakra Shot!" Sakura said as she fired another shot but this time, Kabuto was able to go underground to avoid and reappeared from underneath Sakura who was able to dodge it.

"Pressure Finger!" Sakura yelled and then struck Kabuto's arm with right index finger. Suddenly, Kabuto's right arm goes limp.

'Don't tell me she?' Kabuto thought as he realized what just happened.

"She struck one of his pressure points near the arm." Tsunade exclaimed as she also realized what happened, 'But no ordinary genin could have known where they are located. Is she a medic-genius?' Tsunade thought.

"I only need one arm to crush you!" Kabuto roared as he tried to punch Sakura with his only healthy hand but Sakura grab it and then retaliated with a powerful punch to the gut, 'This feels just like one of Tsunade's punches…who the hell is this girl?' Kabuto thought as he was sent flying into a boulder by the punch.

"He won't be getting up from that one. My last punch was basically a concentrated Chakra Shot so his stomach should have gotten rearranged by now." Sakura said.

"Don't talk so hastily, Sakura-chan." Kabuto said as he got back up.

"He's up again?" Sakura exclaimed, 'but that's impossible. That last punch should have knocked him down and out for good.' Sakura thought.

"I've got to hand it to you Sakura, you're much tougher than you look. However, you're not tough enough. You must be wondering why your last attack didn't end the fight, correct? It's because of my special ability called Instant Regeneration." Kabuto explained.

"Instant Regeneration?" Tsunade, Naruto, and Sakura all exclaimed.

"Yes. It's an ability that I developed in order to better serve Orochimaru's purpose. It basically activates whether an area of mine in my body has been badly damaged. It will replace the old cells with the new cells, and thus heal my body to perfection." Kabuto explained.

"If that's the case, then all I have to do is put more power into it!" Sakura said as she ran toward Kabuto with her left fist engulfed in green chakra and she then punched him as hard as she could in the same spot but this time, it didn't even budge him.

"No response?" Sakura asked.

"There's one more thing my instant regeneration does for me; It renders me immune to the attack I regenerated from so no matter how many times you hit me with it or that pressure finger of yours, it will be rendered useless since my body has now become unaffected by them." Kabuto said with a grin before knocking Sakura back with a roundhouse kick to the face.

"Well, what's the matter Naruto-kun? Are you not going to defend your girlfriend against me?" Kabuto asked.

"I don't need to, she's going to win." Naruto replied sternly.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. How cute to trust your girlfriend that much, but she's way out of her league this time, Naruto-kun." Kabuto laughed.

"I wouldn't underestimate us kunoichis, Kabuto." Sakura said as she got back up.

"And why is that?" Kabuto asked.

"Because of this!" Sakura said and then small pink sharp petals were all around Kabuto.

"What the? What is this?" Kabuto asked.

"Ninpou: Sakura Kageyoshi (Ninja Art: Cherry Blossoms Brutal Shadows)!" Sakura yelled and then the petals all struck Kabuto, cutting him up, and knocking him to the ground.

"Well, would you look at that? It looks like the girlfriend of my apprentice defeated yours." Jiraiya said.

"Hmm, I wouldn't be too sure about that." Orochimaru said with a smirk.

As soon as Orochimaru said that, Kabuto rose up but this time, his eyes were blood-red with a blank look in his eyes.

"He's persistent." Jiraiya said.

Kabuto then dashed toward Sakura, who was a bit exhausted from her last jutsu. Kabuto swung his kunai but was caught by Naruto's left hand.

"Naruto-kun!" Sakura said.

"You did great Sakura-chan but allow me to finish this jerk off." Naruto said and then used his right hand to create a clone who then started to form the rasengan.

'That's his jutsu!' Tsunade thought as she recognized what it was.

"Now stay down! Fuuton: Rasengan!" Naruto yelled out and then slammed his attack into Kabuto. The ball engulfed him and slammed him into a huge rock. When the smoke cleared, Kabuto was on the ground, unconscious.

'That kid…he actually learn how to use one of his father's techniques?' Orochimaru thought, "Jiraiya, did you teach him that?" Orochimaru asked Jiraiya.

"Yeah I did." Jiraiya replied.

'This kid could prove to be problematic but first things first; I have to get rid of my second biggest obstacle!' Orochimaru thought as he then flew down and entered the ground.

"What is he planning now?" Jiraiya asked.

"I may not get my arms back but at least I'll be able to accomplish something much greater! The death of a sannin!" Orochimaru said as he reappeared behind Tsunade.

"Tsunade!" Jiraiya yelled out.

"It's over, Tsunade!" Orochimaru said as he had his kusanagi out from his mouth, and then thrusts it forward. But instead of stabbing Tsunade, he stabs Naruto in the left shoulder instead.

"Naruto-kun!" Sakura cried out.

"But why?" Tsunade asked Naruto.

"I don't know why…my body just decided to move on its own. Or maybe it's the fact that for the first time in this trip, I can see you and acknowledge you as the Godaime Hokage." Naruto said before coughing out more blood.

"What?" Tsunade asked, shocked.

"You had a chance that not many people get in their lifetimes and that is to see your loved ones again. Most people would have taken that chance but you refused and instead decided to put your life on the line to defend what's right. That's a quality that only a Hokage would demonstrate and no one else would." Naruto explained.

'Hmm. This boy is the son of that wretched bastard, has the Kyuubi in him and on top of that, he survived against Pein. He'll become too troublesome if I don't kill him now!' Orochimaru thought as he then pulled out his Kusanagi from Naruto's shoulder. He then swung his sword again, this time to cut Naruto's head off when his sword was suddenly held by Tsunade's left hand.

"Nani?" Orochimaru asked, 'Her trembling stopped!' Orochimaru thought.

"I'm sorry Orochimaru but I can't let you hurt that boy…because he's one of my people and what kind of Hokage would I be…if I can't even protect MY PEOPLE!" Tsunade replied and then punched Orochimaru in the face with her right fist, sending him flying a couple of feet back before landing on his feet.

"Hokage? Hokage is a shit job! Only fools would take it." Orochimaru sneered.

"Well then, that makes me a fool, doesn't it? But unlike you, I rather be a fool that is willing to sacrifice their lives for their dreams rather than being a fool who hides in the shadows like you!" Tsunade said with a smirk before frowning, "Listen well Orochimaru. From now on, you will know me as the Godaime Hokage of the Leaf!" Tsunade said.

* * *

Tsunade's proclamation! She has now accepted her destiny as the Godaime, but the battle is far from over! Next on Namikaze Hokage, "Sannin"

Author's Note: As always, read and review

Author's Note #2: Just because Tsunade did not uses Genesis Rebirth doesn't mean she'll never use it. I'm just saving it for something later.


	25. Sannin

Author's Note: Naruto nor the characters belong to me except for the OC's and original jutsus. The rest all belong to Kishimoto Masashi. All I am doing is using them in a fictional story.

"It's over, Tsunade!" Orochimaru said as he had his kusanagi out from his mouth, and then thrusts it forward. But instead of stabbing Tsunade, he stabs Naruto in the left shoulder instead.

"Naruto-kun!" Sakura cried out.

"But why?" Tsunade asked Naruto.

"I don't know why…my body just decided to move on its own. Or maybe it's the fact that for the first time in this trip, I can see you and acknowledge as the Godaime Hokage." Naruto said before coughing out more blood.

"What?" Tsunade asked, shocked.

"You had a chance that not many people get in their lifetimes and that is to see your loved ones again. Most people would have taken that chance but you refused and instead decided to put your life on the line to defend what's right. That's a quality that only a Hokage would demonstrate and no one else would." Naruto explained.

'Hmm. This boy is the son of that wretched bastard, has the Kyuubi in him and on top of that, he survived against Pein. He'll become too troublesome if I don't kill him now!' Orochimaru thought as he then pulled out his Kusanagi from Naruto's shoulder. He then swung his sword again, this time to cut Naruto's head off when his sword was suddenly held by Tsunade's left hand.

"Nani?" Orochimaru asked, 'Her trembling stopped!' Orochimaru thought.

"I'm sorry Orochimaru but I can't let you hurt that boy…because he's one of my people and what kind of Hokage would I be…if I can't even protect MY PEOPLE!" Tsunade replied and then punched Orochimaru in the face with her right fist, sending him flying a couple of feet back before landing on his feet.

"Hokage? Hokage is a shit job! Only fools would take it." Orochimaru sneered.

"Well then, that makes me a fool, doesn't it? But unlike you, I rather be a fool that is willing to sacrifice their lives for their dreams rather than being a fool who hides in the shadows like you!" Tsunade said with a smirk before frowning, "Listen well Orochimaru. From now on, you will know me as the Godaime Hokage of the Leaf!" Tsunade said

* * *

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 24: Sannin

* * *

"Are you okay, Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked as she puts his head on her lap and then started to heal his wound.

"I'm okay, Sakura-chan. By the way, that was an excellent fight Sakura-chan. You've really grown into a strong kunoichi tebayo." Naruto said with a smile, a genuine smile before drifting into unconsciousness.

"T…Thank you, Naruto-kun." Sakura replied, blushing.

"Here we go!" Tsunade said as she took some of the blood on her and then went through a series of seals that Kabuto recognized as he regained consciousness.

"Orochimaru-sama! You have to summon Manda-sama now!" Kabuto said. Orochimaru then reappeared besides him and he quickly put some blood on the seal on Orochimaru's arm.

'Come on, make it work!' Jiraiya said as he went through his own seal, and then all three slammed the ground with their hand, and,

"Kuchiyose No Jutsu!" All three yelled at the same time and then three huge explosions took place. When the smoke cleared, Tsunade was on top of a large white/blue slug, Jiraiya was on top of a giant reddish frog with a pipe, sword, and a black vest, and Orochimaru and Kabuto were on top of a purple snake with green eyes.

"Hey dad!" The yellow-skinned frog yelled as it said hello to its father

"Ack, Gamatatsu! We gotta get out of here!" Gamakichi yelled to his little brother as he and Ton-Ton were running away.

"Tsunade and Katsuya, Orochimaru and Manda. What is this, a special reunion?" Gamabunta asked.

"No time for your stupid jokes, you old toad. We've got bigger things to worry about. We're going to defeat Orochimaru right here and now." Jiraiya replied.

"What is this, Orochimaru? Why did you summon here in this pathetic excuse of a land? You want me to eat you, you sorry piece of shit!" Manda said.

"Please Manda-sama, we'll pay you generously later on…" Kabuto tried to say in order to appease the snake boss

"Who do you think you're talking to you, you little shit?" Manda yelled at Kabuto, "You better prepare 100 sacrifices for me when this is over, Orochimaru

'No matter what the situation was, he should have never summoned someone as unpredictable and selfish as Manda.' Kabuto thought.

"You…You want me to turn you into toad jerky?" Manda said to Gamabunta.

"I wouldn't mind turning you into a snake-skin wallet." Gamabunta replied as he drew his sword.

"As of now Orochimaru, you're no longer fit to be considered a sannin!" Jiraiya said.

"Oh really?" Orochimaru chuckled.

"As of today, the sannins are no more!" Tsunade said.

"Sakura-chan, we have to get out of here or else we'll get caught in the battle. I'll help you carry Naruto-kun" Shizune said as she approached the two. Sakura nodded and together, they carried Naruto and went to a safer place.

"Zeshi Nensan (Thousand Fanged Acid)!" Katsuya yelled as she shot some acid from her mouth toward Manda who dashed around a rock before heading straight for Katsuya.

"Oh no you don't! Suiton: Teppoudama!" Gamabunta yelled as he performed a water technique that headed straight for Manda.

"Weak shit. Ninpou: Hebi Endan (Ninja Art: Snake Bomb)!" Manda yelled as it countered with a snake-headed ball of energy that cancelled with the water bomb.

"Suiton: Teppoudama!" Gamabunta yelled again and fired two more shots and Manda countered again but added a third shot that took Gamabunta by surprise and struck him full force.

"Now for you, my pretty!" Manda said as it then wrapped its tail around Katsuya and started to squeeze and squeeze on it.

"Tsunade-sama." Katsuya said and Tsunade nodded before getting off Katsuya just in time as Katsuya exploded into little versions of herself and then regrouped.

Gamabunta then dashed through and tried to stab Manda with his large knife but was denied as Manda avoided the stab and grabbed the knife with its mouth and tossed it back at Manda who moved out of the way and the knife landed near Katsuya as Tsunade used it to land on Katsuya.

"Toad Cannon!" Gamabunta yelled out as it headed straight for Manda in the form of a ball and struck the snake in the gut, knocking it back a few feet.

"Snake Pack!" Manda yelled out and unleashed a huge group of smaller snakes from its mouth.

"Give me some oil, Bunta!" Jiraiya said as he went through a series of seals.

"Got it!" Bunta said and then began to bring up some oil at the apex of its mouth

"Katon: Gamayu Endan (Fire Release: Toad Oil Cannon)!" Jiraiya yelled out as he fired off a huge wave of flames that struck Manda. However, when the smoke cleared, something was not right as the remains of Manda's skin were still there.

"He molted his skin!" Jiraiya said and right on clue, Manda's tail appeared from underground but Gamabunta was fast enough to catch it. However, the rest of Manda reappeared behind them and was about to bite them when Tsunade suddenly dived in with Bunta's knife in her hands and then plunged it right into Manda's mouth.

"Keep it shut!" Tsunade yelled.

'I knew fighting these two at the same time would be quite troublesome' Orochimaru thought. He then lashed out his tongue and wrapped it around Tsunade.

"Let's end this!" Tsunade said and then got free from the hold, grabbed Orochimaru's tongue and pulled him up. She then focused all of her chakra into her left fist and then punched Orochimaru hard in the face, knocking way back into the ground, causing a crater as he landed.

'She struck him full force!' Kabuto thought.

"That should have ended it." Jiraiya said.

"Grr…how dare you shame me like this? I'd like to rip you to pieces but my mouth is shut by that knife. So prepare yourself for your death next time." Manda growled before disappearing.

"Tsunade…even if you don't cooperate with me, I still have one option left." Orochimaru said.

"What the?" Both Tsunade and Jiraiya exclaimed as they both saw a corner of Orochimaru's face ripped off to reveal the face of a young girl.

"I will surely destroy the Leaf Village! Until we meet again, my dear old friends." Orochimaru grinned before disappearing followed quickly by Kabuto.

'So, he really was able to complete that jutsu…' Jiraiya thought.

Suddenly, Tsunade began to clutch her sides in pain.

'Damn, I must be feeling the side effects of that jutsu.' Tsunade thought.

'Damn, I broke a rib and a leg.' Jiraiya thought as he also felt some pain.

"That boy….he's really something. Just like his father was. If it wasn't for him, I doubt I would have chosen to become Godaime." Tsunade said as she looked at Naruto, "And you too, you're an incredible kunoichi, almost remind me of myself when I was younger." Tsunade said to Sakura.

"Yeah, except without the gambling problems." Jiraiya snickered.

"Shut up!" Tsunade yelled.

"T…thank you, Tsunade-sama. It means a lot coming from you." Sakura said.

"Don't mention it." Tsunade said with a smile before feeling a sensation in her body, "Damn, the after-effects of that jutsu are kicking in." Tsunade said as her skin began to shrivel.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune said.

"It's best if we stay here a bit longer until Naruto-kun is at 100. Also, with more rest, I will be able to revert to my younger self again. Afterwards, we'll head back to the village." Tsunade said.

"Tsunade…" Jiraiya began to say but was cut off by Tsunade

"Don't call me that anymore. From now on, call me…" Tsunade said.

* * *

"The Godaime?" Naruto said as he and the others were at the pub were everything began.

"Yep." Tsunade replied.

"About damn time you decided. Now, we can finally leave this damned place though…"Naruto trailed off.

"Though what, Naruto?" Jiraiya asked.

"I mean, she's strong and a great healer but as a person, she's not really qualified at all. She's a chronic gambler, has a horrible temper, is a heavy drinker, and on top of that she lies about her age. I mean, what would the other village leaders think of us if we allow such a debased person to become Hokage. I understand the need to shore up our power again in the region but is it worth the loss of our reputation and image?" Naruto asked.

"Why you little runt! Let's take this outside!" A pissed off Tsunade said as she got up in his face.

"Sure, no problem." Naruto smirked.

"Didn't we go through that already?" Jiraiya sighed.

"Hmph, I'm the Hokage now, whether you like or not and this is all I will need and this time, you're not going to trick me." Tsunade said as he showed only one finger.

"Just don't make yourself too comfortable while you're Hokage because that title is going to belong to me in a few years." Naruto replied with a smirk.

"Is that so? But, do you have the balls to back up your proclamation? I wouldn't want to hand over my title to some scrawny little kid you know?" Tsunade said, in hopes of provoking Naruto.

"Why you!" Naruto growled and ran straight for her.

'He would have been better off using a shadow clone.' Jiraiya thought.

Naruto throws a punch but Tsunade ducked and countered by flicking Naruto's headband off with her finger. Naruto started to walk back as he saw her coming for him but then his eyes widened when he did not feel a blow but rather a kiss and looked up to see her kiss his forehead. She then takes out her necklace and puts it around Naruto.

"Tsunade-sama! Your necklace!" Shizune exclaimed.

"Why give this to me?" Naruto asked.

"It's because you've earned it kid and because I'm putting all of my hopes on you. Two others I held very close to me all wanted the same dream as you and by giving you that necklace, you will carry on their dreams as well, their dreams of becoming Hokage." Tsunade explained.

"Thank you." Naruto said.

"Alright then, let's head back to the village!" Jiraiya said.

* * *

"Hmm, it looks like the village really has changed since I last left. Starting today, this village is my responsibility as the Godaime." Tsunade said as she was on top of the rooftop that was standing in front of the Hokage Mountain.

"I am amazed you were able to bring her here, Jiraiya." Komura said.

"Aren't I? Besides, handsome devil like me only needs its charm to persuade anyone! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Jiraiya laughed.

"Yeah, right. You were hypnotized by her the moment she showed that huge rack of hers." Naruto said.

"Shut up, kid!" Jiraiya replied, embarrassed.

"Well then, let's gather the local lords and celebrate the inauguration of the Godaime." Lady Homura ordered the two jounins who nodded.

"Wait a minute? Tsunade, there's someone you have to heal." Naruto said.

"Actually, two people, Naruto." Jiraiya said, correcting his student.

"Who were they again, Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked.

"And here it begins." Naruto sighed as he rolled his eyes.

"SHUT UP!" Tsunade yelled at him.

"There's Rock Lee and that brat's teacher, Kakashi. I thought I already told you that!" Jiraiya said.

'Kakashi got hurt?' Naruto thought as he was unaware of it all.

* * *

Jiraiya, Naruto, Tsunade, and Shizune were heading down the stairs when they spotted Shikamaru and his dad coming up.

"What's up, Shikamaru?" Naruto asked as he greeted his friend.

"Yo Naruto, I haven't seen you in a while." Shikamaru said as he greeted his friend.

"I went with this S-class pervert on a trip to make this gambling addict bimbo here our new Hokage." Naruto said nonchalantly as he pointed to Tsunade and Jiraiya who were blushing furiously.

"Let me at him, Shizune! I'll kill him!" Tsunade roared as Shizune was desperately trying to hold her back.

"Damn it boy, why must you always make fun of me?!" Jiraiya asked.

"Because it's so much fun." Naruto replied with a huge mischievous grin.

'He calls the legendary hermit a pervert and the legendary healer a gambling bimbo addict?' Shikaku thought.

"Don't be surprised, dad. Naruto has an uncanny knack for getting under people's skin with ease." Shikamaru said with a smirk as he noticed the look on his father's face, "Anyway Naruto, what are you doing here?" Shikamaru asked.

"Just making sure this fool here does her job. What about you?" Naruto replied, ignoring a raging Tsunade.

"Nothing really, just taking care of some annoying business." Shikamaru replied.

"By the way, aren't you two from the Nara family?" Tsunade asked as she finally calmed down.

"Yes we are, Tsunade-sama." Shikaku answered.

"I heard the antlers make good medicine. Are you taking care of them?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes, of course." Shikaku replied.

"So she's the new Hokage, huh? Ain't she a bit too young?" Shikamaru whispered to Naruto.

"Please. She may look young but she's actually 50. She's just using a special jutsu to make herself look young." Naruto whispered back, shocking the young Nara, "Anyway Shika, see ya later." Naruto said as the others left.

"So that woman is going to become the 5h Hokage? Who is she anyway?" Shikamaru asked.

"Shikamaru, that woman is the strongest and most beautiful in the world. She's also one of the legendary sannins." Shikaku said as he put his hand around his son's neck.

"Damn, a woman hokage. I hate women. They're selfish and annoying, they always act cordially and friendly and so I can never tell what's really going on. Besides, they think they can boss us guys around…damn I hate women." Shikamaru said while his dad sighed.

"Shikamaru, listen to me. There wouln't be any men if it wasn't for women. Men are no good without any women around. Even the roughest woman is tender to the man she loves. Besides, you'll understand when you grow up." Shikaku said.

'What the hell is he talking about? He always gets bossed around by mom.' Shikamaru thought.

"Anyway, I better get going before your mom scolds me." Shikaku said as he left his son.

'And there are men whipped around by woman. I hope the same doesn't happen to me.' Shikamaru thought.

* * *

"I heard you got your ass kicked, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto snickered as Kakashi woke up after Tsunade healed him.

"Naruto-kun! I'm sure sensei tried his best." Sakura said.

"At least one of you respects my skills as a jounin." Kakashi said, glaring at Naruto who stuck out his tongue in reply.

"Alright then, to the next patient!" Tsunade said.

"Hey Sakura, you wanna go out and eat at Ichiraku Ramen?" Naruto asked.

"Sure." Sakura said, and the two left hand in hand.

* * *

"No way! I never expected you to be in a flak jacket, Shikamaru." Ino said, snickering

"Hey, stop laughing!" Shikamaru said as he was now dressed in a chuunin jacket. Team 10 were at a BBQ restaurant, eating out.

"Come on guys, this is supposed to be a celebration so let's celebrate his promotion." Asuma grinned

"Itadakimasu!" Chouji said as he started to eat.

"Hey Chouji! Don't eat before everyone else!" Ino said, scolding the boy, "Besides, you're going to get sick if you eat like that? Can't you have more appreciation for the food?" Ino asked.

"I know how to eat a lot and appreciate it at the same time." Chouji replied and then took the last piece of meat.

"Hey! I was saving that last piece!" Ino said.

"The last bite is the most precious morsel of the meal as it also represents the end of the meal. I won't let anyone take it away from me." Chouji said.

"What the heck are you saying, baka?" That's why everyone makes fun of you!" Ino said.

"Like I care. They can make fun of me all they want but I know my true strength and this headband is an ultimate proof of it!" Chouji said with a stern tone, surprising everyone, "Anyway, congratulations on your success, Shikamaru." Chouji said with a grin.

'It looks like Ino is not the only one who has improved in our team. Before, Chouji would have been upset by what people thought but now, nothing can make him doubt himself, nothing.' Asuma thought.

* * *

"Alright Akamaru! Let's do it! Dynamic Air Marking!" Kiba told his dog as they were racing in the forest. Akamaru then jumped up and peed all over the trees in a spinning fashion, "Good one, Akamaru!" Kiba hollered.

"I thought you two were taking a walk, not desecrating the forest." Shino said as he held a glass box full of bugs.

"Ah, shut up Shino. Nobody cares what you think!" Kiba replied as he continued his training.

"That guy…" Shino said, frowning

'Everyone has their own hobbies…but what about me?' Hinata thought

"What's wrong, Hinata-chan? Why the long face?" A voice said behind her and when she turned, it was none other than Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun!" Hinata exclaimed.

"I see you're back, Sasuke." Shino said.

"Hey Shino, Kiba." Sasuke said as he greeted them.

"Where the heck did you go, Sasuke? I didn't see you for days." Kiba asked.

"I went on a training trip in a town that belongs to my clan. Now Hinata, I have so many things to talk to you about so about you and I go out and eat somewhere?" Sasuke asked as he wrapped one of his arms around Hinata, making her blush before the two headed off.

"Smooth as always, that guy." Kiba said.

* * *

"You really beat someone that was on jounin-level, Sakura-chan?" Iruka asked as he joined the two lovers.

"Yep she did, and you should have seen her. She mopped the floor with him!" Naruto said.

"Naruto-kun…I wasn't that good." Sakura said as she was blushing.

"Nonsense, Sakura-chan. You were great out there and really showed your worth as a kunoichi, though I knew you were that strong all along." Naruto said with a smile.

"That's amazing, Sakura. Oh yeah guys, I wanted to tell you that Shikamaru made chuunin." Iruka said.

"NANI?" Both Sakura and Naruto exclaimed, surprised.

* * *

"So Tsunade-sama, how is he?" Gai asked as he and Tsunade were in Lee's room as Tsunade performed her diagnosis.

"It breaks my heart to tell you this but you must quit being a shinobi." Tsunade said sadly, causing both Gai and Lee to flinch.

"Tsunade-sama, you must be joking, correct?" Gai laughed.

"I'm not. There are numerous bone fragments lodged in his vital parts of his neural framework. You're in no condition to operate as a shinobi even if I operate on you." Tsunade said sternly.

"Lee! Don't believe her, she's an imposter!" Gai said but then realized that Tsunade was telling the truth when he saw the sincere look on her face.

"There…there isn't any hope?" Lee asked, trembling.

"I am the only able to perform the surgery. But not only does it require a large amount of time, it is also extremely risky." Tsunade said.

"Risky?" Gai asked.

"At best, the success rate of this operation rests around 50 percent at the highest. If it fails, then he will die." Tsunade said, "Even if it is successful, he will have to endure extensive rehabilitation." Tsunade added.

All of this information caused Lee to breathe faster and sweat tremendously. He then took one of his crutches, puts back on his shirt, and then headed out of the room.

"Tsunade-sama…" Gai said as he saw his students leave the room.

"I understand how you feel…but it's best that I told him all of this." Tsunade said.

"If I knew this would happen, then I wouldn't have bothered bringing him here." Gai said.

"Regardless of his determination, it's better if he quits now. Waiting will only make it harder on him and inevitability cannot be delayed." Tsunade said.

'Lee.' Gai thought as he knew what Tsunade said was true…that his student could never become a shinobi again.

* * *

Later that night, Gai finds Lee sitting at the place where Team Gai first met.

_Flashback:_

"_Sensei! Despite not being able to use ninjutsu or genjutsu, I aspire to become a great ninja and I am devoting everything to that purpose!" Lee boasted._

"_How idiotic." Neji smirked._

"_And what's so idiotic about that?" Lee asked._

"_You say you can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu and yet you want to become a great ninja? Are you retarded or what?" Neji asked with a smirk, causing Lee to lower his head in shame until…_

"_Nonsense! As long as you have passion, nothing is impossible to accomplish! Along with a good rival, if you give it all of your hard work into it, you'll definitely become a great ninja!" Gai said._

_It was then that I decided to admire Gai-sensei…_

"_Let's just get this over with. Besides, I doubt you'll back down." Kakashi said in a bored tone as he Gai were standing in the middle of the street._

"_So what will it be this time? A taijutsu competition? A 100-meter dash?" Gai asked._

"_None of that nonsense. A simple janken should do it." Kakashi replied._

"_Janken?" Gai asked, somewhat disappointed._

"_Yep. Besides, they say that with great luck comes great power and responsibility." Kakashi said._

"_I see…" Gai said._

"_Why is Kakashi doing this? He doesn't want to fight?" Neji asked as he and Lee were looking from a balcony under the two jounins._

"_That's what it seems like." Lee answered._

"_I'll do it and if by chance I lose, I promise to run 500 laps around Konoha on my hands!" Gai boasted._

"_Here you again with your self-imposed rules." Kakashi said._

"_What an idiot, can you actually do something like that? What a kid." Neji said._

'_Even for Gai-sensei, that's a bit reckless.' Lee thought._

"_JANKEN!" Both jounins yelled out._

_End Flashback_

"Hmm, I knew I would find you here." Gai said as he puts his hand on his student's shoulder.

"G…Gai-sensei." Lee said, "Why are you here?" Lee asked.

"Because I know everything about you, Lee!" Gai said and then gave Lee a grin that had a twinkle in it.

"The first time I became a genin, this is where I swore my dream, my entire purpose for my life. Neji laughed at me back then but I was serious about it. Besides, sensei told me that if I competed with my rivals and made the best of my youth, I would become a splendid ninja. That hard work is required to get there." Lee said before chuckling and continuing,

"I was grateful because during my years at the academy, I didn't have many friends or teachers who told me those things. So I was relieved when I didn't know what to do, a path would appeared in front of me. It was to put hard work into everything and one time, when I was down to my tears and thinking that beating a genius with effort only was impossible, sensei told me that you are a genius at putting your heart into everything you do. That is also when I learned the importance of believing in myself." Lee said and then began to shake and tears started to fall down on his bandages on his hands.

"But just this once, I don't know that I'll get anywhere, even if I try, even if I believe in myself! Gai-sensei, please tell me…" Lee cried out as the dam broke, "Why does something like that only happens to me? What…what should I do? TELL ME!" Lee cried.

'Aiming to become an excellent taijutsu specialist was all he had until now.' Gai thought, 'How painful it must be… He is being unreasonably deprived all of his dreams and wishes.' Gai thought as he looked at Lee's crutches, and he then remembered what Tsunade said

_Flashback:_

'_No matter what his dreams are, he should give up on being a ninja.' Tsunade said._

_End Flashback_

"Lee…If you want to be saved from your pain, you must prepare yourself!" Gai said.

"Does that mean…prepare myself to give up on my dreams?" Lee asked.

"If you lose your dreams, then you will end suffering more than you are now…We're such fools that once we lose our nindos, we can't live on. It's the same for the both of us. Take the surgery, Lee!" Gai said.

"I remember that one time when you went against Kakashi-sensei in a game of janken. Sensei then said that with luck comes great power…that surgery also has a 50-50 chance of life and death…but it is different from Janken!" Lee said.

"Let me tell you something Lee. In the world of the martial arts, the one who does not believe will always be the one defeated, do you understand? Basically, one can only succeed if they believe in victory. When they do so, then nothing is impossible and there is nothing they can not succeed in! And if by some chance the surgery fails, then I will die with you! My nindo has been to raise you as a great ninja and that's a promise that I will never break!" Gai said and then gave Lee his nice-guy pose.

"Arigato, Gai-sensei!" Lee said as he hugged his sensei and then cried.

"It's alright Lee. Everything will be alright." Gai said.

* * *

"So, who the heck are you guys and what the hell do you want?" Sasuke asked as four ninjas, all wearing sound headband, surrounded him and Hinata in the middle of the street at night.

"We're Orochimaru's personal bodyguards, the Sound Four, and we were sent by Orochimaru to bring you to him as his new vessel. Any questions, kid?" The man with black hair, tanned-skin and six arms asked.

* * *

The Sound Four return to Konoha, this time for Sasuke! Next on Namikaze Hokage, "Capture of the Dragon"

AN: Finally done with the Tsunade arc and I hoped you enjoyed. Now, we come to the juicy part of this story. Will Sasuke give into the sound or fight back? Also, expect some surprises in this arc, like a healthy Kimimaro!


	26. Capture of the Dragon

Author's Note: Naruto nor the characters belong to me except for the OC's and original jutsus. The rest all belong to Kishimoto Masashi. All I am doing is using them in a fictional story.

"So, who the heck are you guys and what the hell do you want?" Sasuke asked as four ninjas, all wearing sound headband, surrounded him and Hinata.

"We're Orochimaru's personal bodyguards and we were sent by Orochimaru to bring you to him as his new vessel. My name is Kidoumarou of the East Gate" The man with black hair, tanned-skin and six arms answered.

"I'm Tayuya of the North Gate." Tayuya said.

"I'm Jiroubou of the South Gate." Jiroubou said.

"And I'm Sakon of the West Gate." Sakon said.

"And together, we form the Sound Four." Kidoumaru said.

* * *

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 25: Capture of the Dragon

* * *

"Are you sure it is wise to send them after Sasuke? You do know he is under the protection of Uchiha Kyosuke." Kabuto said.

"I know that but what Kyo doesn't know is that no matter how hard you try to tame the darkness within someone, once that darkness is already in that person, it can easily be pulled out. By sending them and also him, I am going to pull out the avenger that is buried inside Sasuke and bring him into the surface and then make him mine." Orochimaru smirked.

"And that shouldn't be too hard considering the gap in their skill level and even if Sasuke beats them, there's no way he'll beat him." Kabuto said.

"And everything will go according to plan. Ha, ha, ha, ha." Orochimaru said.

* * *

"Orochimaru? What the heck does that snake freak want with me now?" Sasuke asked as he remembered the snake sannin from that time during the forest of death.

"Like we said dipshit, Orochimaru sent us here to get your scrawny ass and make him his new vessel." Tayuya said.

"And I already told that snake-fucker that I don't want anything to do with him." Sasuke replied angrily.

'That wasn't actually a bad insult.' Tayuya thought.

"Listen kid, we're not leaving here until you come with us, either voluntarily or by force." Sakon said.

"Then you'll just to force me then." Sasuke said with a smirk, "Hinata, you stay back. I'll handle these clowns." Sasuke said to his girlfriend.

"Be careful Sasuke-kun." Hinata said.

"Aw, isn't that cute? Your little girlfriend is worried about you? Too bad she'll be doing more than that when we're…" Sakon said before getting kicked right in the face with a jumping roundhouse kick by Sasuke, knocking him back. Kidoumaru tried to punch Sasuke but Sasuke then puts his left hand on the ground and kicks Kidoumaru under the chin with his right leg, knocking the six-armed man in the air. Jiroubou also tried to punch him from the back but Sasuke saw it coming, dodged it to his left and countered by grabbing Jiroubou and smacking him right into Kidoumaru and sending them toward Sakon and Tayuya, causing the Sound Four to crash into each other. However, when the smoke cleared, all there was left were logs and then suddenly, all four dived at Sasuke and punched him, only to punch the ground. They looked to their right and saw Sasuke standing there in the Gouken stance, smirking.

"You guys are way too easy." Sasuke said.

"You little shit! I'll kill you!" Sakon roared and headed toward Sasuke only for Sasuke to disappear and reappear in front of him and before Sakon could react, Sasuke punched him hard in the gut, breaking even a few bones before the punch sent flying back about 30 ft.

"Spider Thread!" Kidoumaru yelled out and shot a spider thread from one of his hands and wrapped it around Sasuke's right hand, and then pulled Sasuke toward him.

"He's all yours Jiroubou!" Kidoumaru yelled to his fat friend as the latter then came up and clotheslines Sasuke, knocking him into a tree. However, when the debris cleared, there was only a puppet of Sasuke left and before everyone could do anything, Kidoumaru was stomped to the ground, face first by Sasuke who fell from the from the sky and stomped him hard on the back. Sasuke then looked at Jiroubou with a wild smirk and his Sharingan on before disappearing and reappearing in front of Jiroubou and reared his right arm back.

"Uchiraryuu: Shoryuu (Uchiha Style: Rising Dragon)!" Sasuke said and then punched Jiroubou right in the gut, making the fatass cough out some blood and then followed through with a rising uppercut to the chin with the left fist, dragging Jiroubou into the air.

"I'm not done yet! Dragon Cutter!" Sasuke yelled out and then knocked Jiroubou right into ground with an axe kick to the back of the head.

'Who the hell is this kid? He's much stronger than we ever anticipated!' Tayuya thought as she saw her teammates being beaten down.

"Katon: Goukyakuu No Jutsu!" Sasuke yelled as he shot his fireball technique at Tayuya who moved to her left to dodge it.

"If you think that I'll go to Orochimaru, then you can forget it! I'll never go to that snake bastard! NEVER!" Sasuke yelled as he appeared next to Tayuya and then struck her in the face with a right kick, knocking her into tree.

"THAT'S IT! YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD, KID!" Sakon roared as black marks suddenly appeared on him.

'What the heck is that?' Sasuke wondered.

'His chakra activity…doubled.' Hinata thought as she looked at Sakon with her Byakugan.

"Are you actually going to use your curse seal on that trash, Sakon?" A voice said and everyone turned to see a young man with long white hair, blue eyes, and a wearing a purple open shirt with black pants and the same waistband as the rest of the sound four.

"Kimimaro." Sakon growled.

"But I guess that a trash like you would need a curse seal to handle another piece of trash like that kid." Kimimaro said.

"Look, we don't need your help, Kimimaro! We were just about to cream that kid!" Kidoumaru said.

'Oh really? Because so far, this kid has been the one creaming you without exerting much effort." Kimimaro said.

"Who the hell are you?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm Kaguya Kimimaro, leader of the Sound Five." Kimimaro answered.

"So you're the leader of these losers, huh? Well then, let's see how you stack up compared to them!" Sasuke said and then dashed toward Kimimaro at high speed and punched Kimimaro multiple times in the gut, making him skid back about 20 ft. But then Sasuke grimaced in pain as his knuckles were bloody.

'What the hell is going on? How in the world can I punch him and yet be the one bleeding? Is his body made of steel or something?' Sasuke thought.

"Judging by your facial expression, you must have realized just how durable my body is. Your flimsy punches cannot hope to hurt me." Kimimaro said.

"We'll just see about! Uchiaryuu: Ken No Jigoku Ryuu Kaen! (Uchiha Style: Fist of the Hell Dragon Flame)!" Sasuke said and then dark flames that resembled dragons engulfed his arms. He then dashed at Kimimaro and again struck him multiple times in the stomach, knocking him back again. But then Sasuke looked at Kimimaro and his eyes widened as he saw that his attack did little to no damage at all.

'That's all it did? What's up with this guy's body?' Sasuke thought.

"I guess you really are trash. I don't see what Orochimaru-sama sees in you but if it is his wish for you to be his next vessel then I will make that wish come true." Kimimaro said before reappearing in front of Sasuke and striking him in the gut with a hard roundhouse kick. The kick was so powerful that it made Sasuke cough out blood and knock Sasuke back 30 ft before landing hard on the ground.

"Sasuke-kun!" Hinata cried out, and started to head toward Sasuke.

"Stay back, Hinata!" Sasuke yelled, making her stop in her tracks as he got back up.

"Now, let me show you a trick of mine." Kimimaro said and suddenly, a bone pops up from his shoulder and he then takes it out, much to Sasuke's surprise.

'What the hell did he just do?' Sasuke thought.

"Now come, and I will show you one of my dances." Kimimaro said.

Sasuke growled and then dashed toward Kimimaro and unleashed of volley of punches and kicks but Kimimaro was able to block them all with his bone.

"Dance of the Camelia!" Kimimaro yelled as he then thrusted his bone blade multiple times, slashing Sasuke around before knocking the boy hard to the ground with a downward axe kick using his right leg.

"See, that wasn't so hard now was it?" Kimimaro said to the remaining members of the Sound Five, "Now, to finish this…" Kimimaro said as he lifted Sasuke up by the turtleneck of his shirt with his left hand. He then grabbed the kid's throat and pressed on it, forcing him to open his mouth.

"Leave Sasuke-kun alone!" Hinata yelled as she rushed to save her boyfriend but then Sakon appeared in front of her and knocked her back with a right hook to the jaw.

"Hi…nata." Sasuke coughed out.

Kimimaro then took out a small bottle that had a purple pill. He then took out the pill and forced it into the boy's mouth and made him swallow it and then dropped the boy to the ground.

"What did you just do to me?" Sasuke asked.

"I simply gave you a pill Orochimaru-sama created in order to give you a more potent version of the curse seal." Kimimaro answered.

Sasuke was about to retort when he suddenly felt an intense pain going through his body as the curse seal mark appeared once again.

* * *

_Sasuke's Mindscape_

"_Where the heck am I?" Sasuke asked. He looked around and then saw a dojo with drawings of dragons and tiger on the doors and walls of the dojo._

"_I see that I'm in my mind…but why?" Sasuke asked. _

_Then suddenly, he felt a jolt of pain and fell on his knees as a purplish-colored energy leaked from his mouth and then reformed itself into….Sasuke._

"_What the hell is this? Is this some kind of joke?" Sasuke asked as he saw his other, "Who the hell are you?" Sasuke asked._

"_I'm you, bro." the other Sasuke smirked._

"_How is that possible? I never saw you here before!" Sasuke growled._

"_I was always here, Sasuke. It's just that you buried me away with all your thoughts of friendship and all that crap, especially thanks to that Kyo-bastard." The other Sasuke said._

"_Don't tell me…you're the darkness that developed within me after Itachi killed the clan, aren't you?" Sasuke asked._

"_Bingo. Yes, I am that darkness, the you that you buried away! And now, I'm here to reclaim this body for our true purpose!" the other Sasuke said and suddenly, the real Sasuke was binded by metal chains and no matter how hard he tried, he could not break out of it._

"_It's useless Sasuke. Your resolve is too weak to break out of these chains. But don't worry, I will go to Orochimaru and get the power we need to kill Itachi." Dark Sasuke said with a grin._

"_NO! I won't let you!" Sasuke yelled as he tried to break free but was unable to._

"_I told you, you're too weak and with you controlling this body, we'll never kill Itachi! With Orochimaru's power, we'll finally be able to accomplish our ambition! Now, just sit back and enjoy the ride because you're never getting out of here again!" Dark Sasuke said before putting Sasuke inside the dojo and then closing it off, ignoring Sasuke's cries._

* * *

In the real world, Sasuke stood back up but this time, smirked.

"I've got to thank Orochimaru when I get there. If it wasn't for him, I would have never been set free and be able to regain control." Sasuke said.

"What the heck is he talking about?" Jiroubou asked.

"Didn't you listen to what Orochimaru said, you stupid fatass! Orochimaru told us that he wanted to drag the darkness out from that boy, the avenger side of the boy, by using the pill and that is exactly what happened, fat shit." Tayuya explained.

"Do you really have to curse like that?" Jiroubou sighed.

"Shut the fuck up!" Tayuya replied.

"Anyway, when are we going to Orochimaru?" Sasuke asked.

"Sasuke-kun! You can't go!" Hinata cried out.

"I see, you must be that girl my other half loves. How pathetic. We have no need for such bonds and you're in the way." Sasuke said. He then reappeared next to Hinata and then chopped her in the back of the neck, knocking her unconscious but not before saying, "The Sasuke you love is gone and is never coming back. I'll make sure of it."

Kimimaro meanwhile coughed and there was blood on his hand. He then nodded and turned to the other Sound bodyguards.

'You four take care of the rest. I'm going back to Orochimaru-sama to report." Kimimaro said before using shunshin to disappear.

"Damn that bastard! Ever since Kabuto was able to find an antidote for his sickness, he's being acting all high and mighty again." Kidoumaru said.

"But it won't be for long. As soon as the opportunity arises, I'll kill him!" Sakon growled.

"Well, when are we get going? I need that power now!" Sasuke growled.

"Okay, follow us, Sasuke." Kidoumaru said and then the Sound Four and Sasuke left.

The next morning, Izumo and Kotetsu were walking down the road with books in their hands when they suddenly saw Hinata lying on the street.

"Man that Hokage sure is a slave driver, telling us to get those papers that she forgot. Shouldn't she be the one that go get them?" Izumo complained.

"Hey, isn't that Hyuuga Hinata?" Kotetsu asked as he saw Hinata on the street.

"Yes, it's her and she looks quite beat up." Izumo said as they walked toward her and checked on her.

"SASUKE-KUN!" Hinata yelled as she woke up, surprising the two chuunins. She then noticed that Sasuke and the Sound Four were nowhere to be, and tears started to fall from her face.

"What happened?" Kotetsu asked.

* * *

"WHAT? Sasuke left the village?!" Tsunade yelled as she heard the news from the two chuunins.

"Well not exactly. According to Hyuuga Hinata, Orochimaru's men brainwashed him with a pill and then fled with him." Kotetsu said, correcting the Hokage.

'So that's what he meant by his other option…He was going after the Uchiha and the Sharingan.' Tsunade thought.

"I see. Alright then, I want you two to get me someone." Tsunade ordered.

* * *

"You better eat your breakfast quickly, Shikamaru! Your father has an important mission and he won't have time for morning training if you don't hurry up and eat!" Shikamaru's mother said, reprimanding her lazy son.

"Yeah yeah…" Shikamaru replied.

"One yeah is enough!" Shikamaru's mother said.

'Man, what a pain. She's been nagging me all morning.' Shikamaru thought.

Then suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"I wonder who it could be at this morning?" The mother asked as she went to answer the door.

"Hey dad?" Shikamaru asked his father.

"What is it?" Shikaku asked.

"Why did you marry a woman like mom anyway?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well, your mom has times when she's happy and cheerful. That's probably why…" Shikaku replied.

"That's it?" Shikamaru asked, a bit disappointed at his dad's answer.

"Yep, pretty much. You'll understand when you get older." Shikaku replied.

"Shikamaru! Some messengers from the 5th want to speak to you." His mother said with a smile.

"Last night, Sasuke was apparently brainwashed by Orochimaru's men and then left with them." Tsunade told Shikamaru.

"What the hell? He was brainwashed?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes. Orochimaru's men injecting him with a curse seal pill that corrupted him and made him go to Orochimaru." Tsunade said.

"Woah! So he's going to Orochimaru? That's not good at all." Shikamaru said.

"I know that. Listen, we're running out of time so I'm going to give your first mission; To retrieve Sasuke before he reaches Orochimaru." Tsunade said sternly.

"So you basically want to bring back Sasuke here so we can undo the effects of the pill, right?" Shikamaru said.

"Exactly, though it will be much harder because he's mostly likely will be protected by Orochimaru's men." Tsunade said.

"Well then, I'll need to be have a group of jounins and chuunins with me." Shikamaru said.

"I'm sorry but I can't do that. We're too thin in terms of manpower right now and we need all available jounins and chuunins for mission. You'll have to find as many strong genins as possible in order to assemble your squad. You have 30 minutes." Tsunade said.

"Man, this is so troublesome." Shikamaru said as he left the room.

"Well, you're not making it easy for the kid, Tsunade-hime." Kyo said as he emerged from the shadows.

"Why are you here, Kyosuke? Shouldn't you be worried about Sasuke?" Tsunade asked.

"I'm not worried at all about Sasuke. He'll be just fine." Kyo replied.

"And how can you be so sure? He was just brainwashed by Orochimaru." Tsunade said.

"Because like I told Orochimaru, a dragon is a creature that cannot be controlled by anyone." Kyo grinned.

"Did you mark him?" Tsunade asked.

"It seems Jiraiya told you a lot about what's going here. Yes, I did mark him and thus set his destiny in motion. Destiny can be deferred but never avoided. This is simply a little obstacle in Sasuke's path that he will overcome. Trust me, it's what been set in motion by fate. By the way, shouldn't you be looking for an apprentice to replace you in the future." Kyo said.

"Yes and I already did find my apprentice." Tsunade said.

"And who would that be?" Kyo asked, intrigued.

"Haruno Sakura, the teammate of Namikaze Naruto." Tsunade said with a smirk.

* * *

"Damn that Orochimaru!" Naruto growled as Shikamaru had come to tell him the news.

"Yeah, and Tsunade told me to find some genins to create a squad to retrieve him and I selected you as a part of it. So get dressed so we can find others." Shikamaru said.

Naruto nodded and headed back to his apartment to get dressed and then headed out with Shikamaru.

"So, who do you have in mind for our squad?" Naruto asked as he and Shikamaru were running through the village.

"Well, you already know who I'm going to add." Shikamaru said with a smirk.

They then stopped in front of Chouji's house and Chouji opened the door, with chips in his hands.

"So we're counting on you Chouji so hurry and get ready. We'll be waiting for you at the gate in ten minutes." Shikamaru told the Akimichi heir.

"Chouji wouldn't be my first choice though however, you two have been friends ever since the academy so I can understand the reasoning behind your choice." Naruto said.

"I hope you guys don't mind if I tag along?" A voice said and they turn to see Kiba with his dog Akamaru.

"Sure, no problem." Shikamaru said.

* * *

"I see. Then for Hinata's sake, I'll join you." Neji said as he and Lee were near the gate.

"Okay then, this squad should be just about right for this mission." Shikamaru said as everyone was assembled.

'Why of all times…' Lee thought as he knew he could not go.

"So Shikamaru, what's the plan?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto's right, we can't just leave without some sort of plan, Shikamaru." Kiba said.

"And I'm already ahead of you. Now, I want you to listen carefully because if we don't follow this plan to perfection, we're all gonna die, got it?" Shikamaru told his men and they nodded, "Now, we will follow a simple straight line formation. First things first; Kiba, you will play the most crucial position of forward scout. You're always traveling all year throughout fire nation and you know our terrain very well. Also, you've got a keen sense of smell so it'll make it easier to track down Sasuke and this also means it makes it easier to detect booby traps from the enemies' scent. Second is me, the squad leader. I can give orders according to the situation behind Kiba and anyone can see my hand signals. Next is Naruto. Your combination of fast-thinking and ninjutsu efficiency makes you the perfect man for the job. Your job will be to cover any attack coming from both the front and back with your shadow clones. Fourth is Chouji. You don't have the speed but you've got the most striking power out of all of us. Basically, me, Naruto, and Kiba will create openings and then you'll come in and clean everything up. Last is Neji. I'll let you handle the most difficult job out of all us as the rear scout. With your Byakugan, you can always check for the squad's blindspots." Shikamaru explained

"I'll explain again but this time with a drawing. Take a look at the field of vision you should focus on. Kiba will concentrate on the front and I'll spread my sight at a wider angle. Naruto will focus to the left, Chouji to the right, and Neji will focus on the entire rear section with his Byakugan." Shikamaru added.

'Amazing….he was able to come up with a strategy that takes full advantage of all of his teammates' strengths.' Lee thought in awe.

"Okay then, let me say this last thing. While Sasuke and I haven't been the best of friends, we're still friends and he is still a comrade of the leaf, and when someone tries to take one of our nakama, it is our duty to stop them no matter what the cost. But most importantly, for the entire duration of this mission, your lives are my responsibility so there's no way I'm slacking off on this one and neither are you, understood?" Shikamaru said.

"Would you look at that? You're starting to sound exactly like a chuunin, Shikamaru." Kiba said, grinning.

"Alright then, as soon as I check all of your equipment, we'll head off." Neji said as everyone then took out their ninja pouches and opened it.

'Orochimaru! I swear I will not let you take my friend!' Naruto thought.

"Okay then, let's go!" Shikamaru said.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hinata was in the hospital, recovering from her wounds when Sakura entered the room

"Are you feeling better, Hinata-chan?" Sakura asked.

"Yes I am, Sakura-chan. Did the hokage send people after Sasuke-kun?" Hinata asked.

"Apparently, she sent Shikamaru and other genins like Naruto to go find him." Sakura replied.

"But that's not enough! They won't be able to …" Hinata began to say.

"Don't worry about a thing, Hinata. Naruto-kun is with them and trust me, Naruto will never let a creep like Orochimaru get his hands on Sasuke. If anyone can bring Sasuke back, it's Naruto-kun." Sakura replied in order to cheer the girl up.

"How can you be so sure about Naruto?" Hinata asked.

"Because I believe in him and as his teammate, that's all I need to do. Besides, Naruto-kun is very strong and is also Sasuke's best friend and on top of that, he's being trained by Jiraiya, one of the legendary sannins." Sakura answered.

"You truly do care about Naruto-kun, do you Sakura-chan?" Hinata asked.

"You can say that." Sakura said, blushing.

"Sakura-chan, can I ask you for a favor?" Hinata asked.

"What is it?" Sakura replied.

* * *

"Sasuke, I think this will be a good place. We've gone far enough from the village." Sakon

"What is it?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, there is one more thing we have to do before going to Orochimaru." Sakon said.

"What the hell is it?" Sasuke asked, glaring.

"You must die once." Sakon answered.

"Die…once?" Sasuke repeated.

"Seishigan (hallucinogen drug)…I'll have you drink it." Sakon said as he took out a bottle with strange black things in it.

"What the hell is it?" Sasuke asked.

"That pill Kimimaro gave you created a new curse seal within you but only of Level 1. By taking this drug, it will force it to go to level 2." Tayuya explained.

"However, the curse seal level 2 dramatically increase the contamination speed and if we don't do anything, then you will die. In other words, in order to control level 2, your body needs time to be adjusted to it and with that power, you'll be as strong as Kimimaro. When the seal awakens, it will only be a few minutes until you die." Sakon explained.

"What will happen after I 'die'?" Sasuke asked.

"Don't worry, that's why we're here for." Sakon said as he gave Sasuke the Seishigan.

"Our barrier ninjutsu will help reduce the effects of the curse. It'll soften the effects of the temporary death into a soft coma." Sakon said.

"And I can trust you guys won't mess up?" Sasuke asked.

"Trust us, Sasuke. When it comes to jutsus like this, we're the best there is." Kidoumaru said.

'I can't die yet.' Sasuke thought as he opened the bottle, "I'm on counting on it." Sasuke said and then swallowed the drug and then began to cluch his chest in pain as he fell down on his knees.

"Okay guys, let's do it!" Sakon said as he unravel a huge scroll with kanji on it, then puts it on the ground before slamming his hand on it. Then, a huge barrel was summoned and Jiroubou puts Sasuke inside of it.

"Alright, let's do it!" Sakon said as they all did a seal and then a purple cloud of smoke entered the barrel

"Shikokumujin (Four Seals of the Dark Mist)!" They all said as the smoke entered the barrel and then the barrel closed.

Sakon then took out four pieces of papers, then bit his finger and then wrote something on each with his blood before throwing them toward the lid of the barrel.

"Fuukoku Houin (Dark Seal)!" Sakon said and then the pieces of paper closed the lid of the barrel.

"Alright then, let's get going." Sakon said as Jiroubou then picked up the barrel and before heading off.

* * *

"Ugh, I'm very tired from that last mission." A jounin said as he, Raidou, Genma, and Shizune were resting in the forest.

"Yeah, I never thought that mission would be so long." Raidou said.

"Quiet." Genma whispered as he and Shizune sensed something, and the other two jounins stayed silent, "I'll go take a look. Raidou, come with me." Genma said and then both jounins disappeared.

The Sound Four were walking down the forest when Sakon suddenly sensed something

"Dammit…this means trouble." Sakon said.

"There's two of them." Tayuya said.

"Here they come!" Kidoumaru said and they then split up only for the two jounins to surround them.

"You guys are Orochimaru's men." Raidou said as he remembered them from the Sound Invasion.

"On your way from the leaf village, eh…So what you guys got in that barrel?" Genma asked as he saw the barrel Jiroubou was holding.

"Two jounins are a bit of a load…" Kidoumaru said as all four of them activated their curse seal level 1.

* * *

The genin team was traveling through the forest when Kiba's nose suddenly started to pick up something as Akamaru whined.

"What's going on, Kiba?" Shikamaru asked.

"There's a smell of blood…and its close by!" Kiba said.

* * *

Sasuke has been taken by Orochimaru's men and now, Naruto and the others are after them! Can they make on time and save their friend?

Next time on Namikaze Hokage: Pursuit and Mutiny

Author's Notes:

- Kimimaro is healthy in my story and what I mean by that is that Kabuto was able to find a vaccine for it and thus save his life, though he still needs to take the vaccine but once every six months. Basically, he will not be affected by the disease like he was in the original and hence be 'healthy' compared to his original counterpart.

Answers to review questions:

Lunapari: I was referring to the aging jutsu she uses to make herself look like she's 20.

Demondog666: I'm sorry but they will die like in the original simply because I don't have a spot for them in my outline for my version of Naruto Part 2. Really sorry 


	27. Pursuit and Mutiny

AN: As always, Naruto does not belong to me but rather Kishimoto Masashi. All I am doing is using is writing a creative story based on his series.

"Ugh, I'm very tired from that last mission." A jounin said as he, Raidou, Genma, and Shizune were resting in the forest.

"Yeah, I never thought that mission would be so long." Raidou said.

"Quiet." Genma whispered as he and Shizune sensed something, and the other two jounins stayed silent, "I'll go take a look. Raidou, come with me." Genma said and then both jounins disappeared.

The Sound Four were walking down the forest when Sakon suddenly sensed something

"Dammit…this means trouble." Sakon said.

"There's two of them." Tayuya said.

"Here they come!" Kidoumaru said and they then split up only for the two jounins to surround them.

"You guys are Orochimaru's men." Raidou said as he remembered them from the Sound Invasion.

"On your way from the leaf village, eh…So what you guys got in that barrel?" Genma asked as he saw the barrel Jiroubou was holding.

"Two jounins are a bit of a load…" Kidoumaru said as all four of them activated their curse seal level 1.

The genin team was traveling through the forest when Kiba's nose suddenly started to pick up something as Akamaru whined.

"What's going on, Kiba?" Shikamaru asked.

"There's a smell of blood…and its close by!" Kiba said.

* * *

Chapter 26: Pursuit and Mutiny

* * *

"Why are they so slow?" Shizune asked as she and the other jounin were waiting for their teammates to return.

"What's our plan, Shizune?" The other jounin asked.

"Let's go take a look." Shizune replied.

"Roger." The other jounin said and then they headed to where Genma and Raidou went, only to find them on the ground unconscious and critically wounded with kunais on their bodies

"What the hell happened?" The jounin asked.

'This is bad!' Shizune said as he felt Genma's heartbeat with her ears. She immediately made a seal and started

"How could both of them be defeated?" The jounin asked.

'This is all I can do for now.' Shizune thought as she was healing them.

"I'm going to follow them, Shizune." The jounin said.

"NO!" Shizune yelled.

"But…" The jounin began to say only for Genma to interrupt him

"Iwashi, wait. Their jutsu is no longer the art of the shinobi. If you pursue them, you'll come back dead." Genma said.

"Genma, stop talking." Shizune said.

* * *

"I can smell the scent of five ninjas, including Sasuke. They were fighting two other ninjas but the five of them are getting further away from the blood. So what's our plan, Shikamaru?" Kiba asked.

"I see…those are people assisting Sasuke." Shikamaru said.

"This isn't good at all." Naruto said.

"If you can smell blood then that means there was a form of combat." Shikamaru said.

"If we go there, I bet we can gather some information. We must however approach this situation carefully and thus we must switch to scouting positions and proceed carefully." Shikamaru said.

'But if we do that, Sasuke would have crossed the border by now." Neji said.

"So what are we going to do?" Naruto asked.

"We'll go after Sasuke." Shikamaru said, "However, the level of alertness within the enemy must have risen after their fight. They must be prepared for Onins (pursuit ninjas) which means we'll likely face traps and ambushes. So from now on, you use both your eyes and ears to your full potential. We have to find them before they can ambush us. Also, if you detect any suspicious movement, don't just avoid it, analyze it!" Shikamaru told his team.

"Finally, I'll be able to use my new jutsus I developed." Kiba said with a grin before smelling something and stopping, "The enemy's stench is all over this place." Kiba said.

"Everyone stop!" Shikamaru ordered and everyone did, "Look closer up there." Shikamaru told his team and when they did, they saw a tag with a kanji on it.

"An explosive seal…I also see five more of them which would then form a barrier seal." Neji said.

"A barrier seal?" Chouji asked.

"They're seal-triggered traps that are activated when the enemy steps into the area encircled by the trap seals. I read it while I was studying ninjutsu in my spare time." Naruto said.

"So that means there's no other way to flank it, huh?" Kiba said.

"Pretty much." Shikamaru said, "But before that…Neji, I want you to use your Byakugan to detect them." Shikamaru added.

Neji nodded and used his Byakugan to look and find the Sound Four resting nearby.

"Caught them." Neji said.

"Okay then, I'm going to lay down our strategy before we head off." Shikamaru said.

* * *

"Damn, we don't have time to rest especially when we don't have the luxury of time to do so." Sakon said.

"Well, what do you expect? We lost too much strength when fighting at level 2." Tayuya said.

"What troubles me the most is that is that we can't use our bodies." Jiroubou said.

"We didn't have any choice, we were up against two jounins. If we had tried to conserve our energy, then we might have been defeated." Kidoumaru said.

* * *

"Alright Kiba, don't miss the timing with the smoke bomb, got it? Okay then, we'll split up into two squads." Shikamaru said.

They then dispersed and started to move but unknown to them, as they passed by the spider-webs, it alerted Kidoumaru who had set them up as alarms in case of an ambush.

'Seems like they haven't noticed us.' Shikamaru thought as he saw them through the bushes, but then saw something that wasn't right, "Hey, where's Sasuke?" Shikamaru whispered.

"He's in that coffin over there. It seems like there's a barrier inside that coffin but I doubt Sasuke is dead considering he's their main objective." Neji said as he saw it through his Byakugan.

Suddenly, Sakon throws a kunai right at a tree behind the two genins but that kunai had a seal-tag explosive on it and suddenly blew up, knocking the two genins into where the Sound Four were.

"I thought I was catching some big preys but it looks like I only caught mices." Sakon said.

"Wait a minute here! We're not her to fight, just to negotiate." Shikamaru quickly said.

"Then what are these?" Kidoumaru smirked as he then used his spider threads to pull Naruto, Chouji, and Kiba into the open but as he did, Kiba then tossed out the smoke bomb.

"And what good is that going to do?" Kidoumaru chuckled but when he and the others tried to move, he found himself unable to. "What the hell?" Kidoumaru asked.

"You guys should know what diversions are by now." Shikamaru said as he had trapped them in his Kagemane No Jutsu.

"Yes, we know of techniques like that and we also know other techniques as well." Sakon said and suddenly, shurikens were thrown behind Shikamaru, cutting his arm and causing the Kagemane to be dispelled.

'How did he do that?' Shikamaru thought.

"Doton Kekkai: Doroudoumu (Earth Barrier: Clay Prison)!" Jiroubou yelled as he slammed both his hands into the ground and created a dome made of earth and engulfed the genins.

"I'm going to suck these guys dry so you guys go ahead." Jiroubou said.

"Well, catch as up as soon as you do. We're gonna head out." Kidoumaru said as he and the others headed out.

"Hurry up okay." Sakon told Jiroubou as they headed out.

* * *

"Damn it, we're trapped." Naruto growled as he touched the walls of the earth prison.

"Move out of the way, Naruto!" Kiba said as he then clapped his hands together, "Tsuuga!" Kiba yelled and performed his taijutsu technique in order to drill the wall only for the dent in the wall to regenerate.

"Did you see that?" Kiba asked Neji.

"Yes, I did." Neji replied.

"Naruto, what do you think of this ninjutsu?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well, this is what I know. It could easily fall into any of the three categories of ninjutsus." Naruto started to say.

"Three categories of Ninjutsu?" Chouji asked.

"Yes. Ninjutsu is divided into three types: Attack, Defense, and Specialization. An example of an attack-type is my Rasengan; an example of a defensive type is something like sujinheki. An example of a specialization-type is Shikamaru's Kage Mane No Jutsu." Naruto continued.

"So which category would this ninjutsu fall into?" Shikamaru asked.

"I would say it's most likely under the specialized type since if it was an attack type, we would have been wounded or dead by now and if it was a defensive ninjutsu, it would have activated only if we attacked." Naruto said.

"Let me see…" Neji said as he then activated his Byakugan and looked into the walls of the prison and then gasped.

"What's going on, Neji?" Shikamaru asked.

"Our chakra…it's being sucked into the wall." Neji said.

'He he….looks like I've acquired a good amount of chakra. Thanks for the meal.' Jiroubou thought.

"I'm losing strength…that's a nasty specialized ninjutsu." Naruto said as he was sitting on the ground.

"This isn't looking good, Shikamaru." Neji said as he saw the chakra leaking from Naruto and Shikamaru.

'This was a fatal mistake getting caught into an enemy's jutsu without analyzing their abilities' Shikamaru thought.

"Damn, there's no other way! Before we all run out of chakra, we gotta bust a hole in this wall!" Kiba said as he took out a soldier pill and then gave it to Akamaru who upon swallowing turned red.

"Mimic me, Akamaru! Gijyu Ninpou (Beast Morph Ninja Art)!" Kiba said as he gain animalistic features and Akamaru transformed and did the same.

"Gatsuuga!" Kiba yelled as both he and Akamaru performed the Gatsuuga technique in order to destroy the prison but all they did was leave dents on it that then regenerated.

"Dammit, it's no use. The moment we strike the wall, it starts to heal itself." Kiba growled but while he did so, Shikamaru was looking at each dent and seeing that one of them was healing slower than others.

"At this rate, we'll lose all our chakra." Kiba said.

"This is useless." Naruto murmured as he tried to create a rasengan but was unable to, 'Besides, he's already got a plan.' Naruto thought.

"Hey listen! I want to talk to your leader?" Shikamaru asked, surprising everyone, "We won't follow Sasuke anymore! Please let us out!" Shikamaru said.

"Shikamaru, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Kiba asked.

"An internal dispute? Sorry but I can't let you go, besides you guys are my meal." Jiroubou chuckled.

"Then only one is fine. Just let me out then, I'm tired of conflicts like these." Shikamaru said, much to the disbelief of the others.

"Do you realize what you're saying, Shikamaru?" Kiba roared.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha! You're the leader and yet you ask for mercy! When humans are placed in dangerous situations like this, that's when their true nature appear. You're not fit to be a leader, you pathetic loser. You're giving up on Sasuke and selling out your comrades, eh? And yet you call yourself a shinobi of the leaf…You should die here, I won't let you out!" Jiroubou said.

"I lost faith in you, Shikamaru!" Kiba growled.

"Oy, shut up Kiba." Naruto said.

"What? How can you be so relaxed when he's trying to sell us out? Besides, Sasuke's your teammate, don't tell me you're okay with all of this?" Kiba asked Naruto.

"Everyone shut up!" Chouji said sternly, making everyone quiet as Shikamaru then took his thinking pose. Then, Chouji took out a bag of chips and started to eat from it.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING HERE? NARUTO IS ACTING LIKE HE'S NOT GIVING A CRAP ABOUT ALL THIS, NEJI IS ALL SILENT AND STUFF, SHIKAMARU IS MEDITATING AND NOW CHOUJI IS EATING CHIPS? WOULD SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON?" Kiba hollered.

"Neji, I'm sorry for the trouble but can you examine the wall behind you and Chouji with your remaining chakra?" Shikamaru asked.

"Roger." Neji said and did as Shikamaru told him, "Hmph…I see, over there." Neji said.

"Next, I want you to aim your dagger at that place." Shikamaru said to Neji before turning to Chouji, "Chouji, are you ready?" Shikamaru asked his best friend.

"Any time, buddy!" Chouji said, "Baika No Jutsu (Expansion Technique)!" Chouji yelled as he then got bigger.

"What's going on?" Kiba asked.

"Allow me to explain. The wall around us is shielded with chakra. However, Shikamaru hypothesized that there maybe points on the wall where the chakra is low in concentration." Neji said.

"How does he know something like that?" Kiba asked.

"When you and Akamaru attacked the walls, Shikamaru noticed that some parts in the wall healed much slower than others which indicated that the spot with the slowest healing rate would be the one with the lowest amount of chakra. Shikamaru then talked to the enemy in order to determine their location since where the enemy is located is where the highest concentration of chakra would be located and thus the wall furthest away from him would have the lowest amount." Neji explained.

'To think that he was thinking that far ahead…in order to trick the enemy, he had to trick us and I bet you that Chouji knew exactly what was happening.' Kiba thought as he took in all of what happened.

"Alright, let's go! Nikudan Sensha (Meat Tank)!" Chouji yelled and then rolled through the wall, breaking the team out of the prison.

"You're the best, Chouji." Shikamaru said, "Hey Naruto, you knew I had a plan all along didn't you? That's why you didn't react when I pulled my little stunt." Shikamaru asked the Namikaze heir.

"Of course. Besides, we're nakama." Naruto replied.

"So you guys broke out of my blockade, huh? Not bad." Jiroubou grinned.

"Time for me to clobber you!" Kiba roared as he headed toward the sound ninja.

"STOP!" Neji yelled, stopping Kiba in his tracks.

"We can't fight him here. Even though it's five against one, we can't defeat such an opponent with our chakra depleted." Neji said.

"And on top of that, if we waste time here, Sasuke will have crossed the border by then, making it impossible to pursue him." Shikamaru added.

"Damn, you're right." Kiba said.

"If you guys think you're going to retrieve Sasuke, then you're even stupider than I thought!" Jiroubou said before putting his hand to the ground and making the ground shake and then disappear.

"Where is he?" Naruto asked.

"He's behind us." Kiba yelled as he smelled Jirobou. They turn around and their eyes widened and their mouth gaped at Jirbou who was holding a mausoleum-size rock in his hands.

"This is ridiculous." Naruto said.

"Doton: Doryu Dango (Earth Release: Mud Cannonball)!" Jirobou yelled as he then hurled the rock at the genins. The others started to run while Chouji stood back.

"Get out of here, Chouji!" Shikamaru yelled.

Chouji smirked as he then caught the rock with both hands and lifted it up and tossed it away. Everyone, including Neji, had their mouths gaping and their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

(AN: Imagine how Enel looked when Luffy couldn't be hurt by his lightning in One Piece)

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" Kiba yelled.

'HE CAUGHT MY ROCK LIKE IT WAS NOTHING!' Jiroubou thought.

'I forgot about Chouji's incredible strength.' Shikamaru thought with a sweat drop behind him.

"This guy…I'm the only one who can handle him. You guys go on ahead and catch up to the others before it's too late. And take these with you, those are soldier pills." Chouji said as he handed Shikamaru a bag of soldier pills.

"But Chouji…" Naruto began to say.

"**I didn't stutter."** Chouji said in a dark tone and glare, scaring the crap out of the others.

'Note to self: Never, ever, piss off Chouji if I want to live to become Hokage.' Naruto thought.

"Counting on you, Chouji and also, be careful with you know what and make sure you catch up with us, okay?" Shikamaru said.

"Don't worry. I'll catch up." Chouji nodded. Shikamaru smirked and then the rest of the gang headed off.

"I'll make quick work of you and them!" Jiroubou yelled as he dashed toward Chouji.

Chouji then took out a case that had three pills of different colors in them

'Those aren't solider pills! But what are they?' Jiroubou thought.

'The first pill…the blue Houren pill!' Chouji thought as he then took the blue pill and bit on it.

Jiroubou tried to punch him but Chouji then grabbed him by the waist and then tossed him high into the air. Chouji then activated his Meat Tank technique but then bounced off the ground and flew in mid air and appeared above Jiroubou, much to his surprise.

"Meteor Tank!" Chouji yelled and then slammed Jiroubou in the stomach with his meat tank, slamming into the ground and then struck him again before rolling off and regaining his normal size.

'That kid…he's strong.' Jiroubou thought as he got back up.

"Ninpou: Nikudan Gyorai (Ninja Art: Meat Torpedo)!" Chouji yelled as he then flew toward Jirobou head first like a missile.

"Oh no you don't! Tsuchi Toride (Earth Fortress)!" Jiroubou as he stood there with his legs stretched and veins appearing on his body. Chouji's attack then struck him before was unable to make him budge as Jiroubou was able to tank the blow.

'No way!' Chouji thought as he found his attack ineffective.

"Yama Kenbu (Iron Shoulder)!" Jiroubou yelled as he then slammed his shoulder with Chouji and knocked the kid back a couple of feet.

"So tell me kid, how do you like my Yama Tsuchi Ken Ryuu (Iron Earth Fist Style)?" Jirobou smirked.

* * *

"Hey, you guys know how Akamaru can sense the strength level of an enemy just by their scent, right?"

"Yeah and?" Shikamaru asked.

"That guy…according to Akamaru, his strength level is high. I know Chouji is strong as hell but can he beat that guy?" Kiba asked.

"Don't worry, Chouji has a secret weapon up his sleeve. It's called the Akimichi pills and each pill increases his strength exponentially." Shikamaru said, 'However, they have dangerous side-effects as well.' Shikamaru thought.

"Besides, this mission isn't a game. We all knew the risk of this mission and that in a worse-case scenario, we would have to split up and fight them individually. Besides, Chouji needs this fight more than anyone of us." Shikamaru said.

"And why is that?" Kiba asked.

"Because of his confidence. Ever since he was little, Chouji had little to no confidence because of his weight and that everyone was making fun of him for that. He tried to prove himself numerous times but he always failed, like in the chunnin exams for example. But since then, Chouji has been training like crazy, trying to become stronger, trying to prove all of those doubters wrong. This is why he needs this fight, so he can finally prove his strength and worth as a fellow shinobi of the leaf." Shikamaru explained.

"I understand the reason but it's too risky! He might die or something!" Kiba said.

"He won't, Kiba! He won't…because Chouji truly is strong." Shikamaru said.

* * *

"Let me show you one of the two taijutsus used by my family! Urage Kenrou Suudan Ken Ryuu (Soft Solid Mass Fist Style)" Chouji yelled and suddenly, steam started to evaporate around Chouji's hands as a kanji appeared on each.

"Let's go! Ikusen Hira No Danjiki (Thousand Palms of Fasting)!" Chouji yelled as he then ran toward Jiroubou and unleashed a volley of steaming palms at the man.

"Useless! Tsuchi Toride!" Jiroubou grinned as he then used his defensive technique but much to his surprise, he found himself budging. 'Impossible! He's breaking through my defense!' Jiroubou thought and Chouji did break through his defenses and struck him full force with his attack, knocking the fat man 40 ft back.

"I'm not through yet! Jouki Nikuudan Sensha (Steam Meat Tank!)" Chouji yelled as he then performed his meat tank with the steam all over his body, tripling its strength.

"Don't get so cocky kid!" Jiroubou growled as he then activated his curse seal and stopped Chouji's rolling attack with his left hand, "Yama Ken (Iron Fist)!" Jiroubou yelled and with his right fist, punched Chouji in the stomach, deflating him and making him cough out blood, "Ni Do Ken (Double Step Fist)!" Jiroubou said as he then stepped in and punched Chouji in the stomach again, this time with each fist. The attack knocked Chouji into a tree.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! It looks like the leaf is running short on ninjas if they send losers like you into the battlefield. But then again, this is to be expected with a squad led by a stupid leader." Jiroubou said.

"Shut up. You talk too much." Chouji growled as he then took out the case of pills and then took out the yellow pill. 'Shikamaru always believed in me. He believed in my strength, that I was strong!' Chouji thought as he then bit on the pill.

"This is why he left me here! That's why he left me to handle this!" Chouji yelled.

"Quite a bit of chakra but not enough to beat me!" Jiroubou smirked.

"I told you before that my family had two sets of Taijutsu styles, right? Well, here's the second one! Kyojin Suudan Ken Ryuu (Giant Mass Fist Style)!" Chouji yelled as he then grew three times bigger than he was and now looked like a mini-giant.

"What the hell?" Jiroubou yelled.

"Here I come, fat-ass!" Chouji roared.

"That suits you better, punk!" Jiroubou yelled as he headed toward Chouji.

Chouji throws a punch with his left fist but Jiroubou dodged to his right to avoid it only for Chouji to swing his arm to the right and smack Jirouboy, knocking him back.

"Kyoukudai Ni Hira No Danjiki (Maximum Twin Palm of Fasting)!" Chouji yelled as steams appeared on Chouji's hands along with the kanjis. He then shot both palms at Jiroubou who tried to block them only to get crushed into the ground by Chouji's sheer force.

"Kanshouki no Kyaku (Leg of Buffet)!" Chouji yelled as he then tried to hit Jiroubou with an axe kick using his right leg only for the latter to grab it.

"I had enough of your fatass!" Jiroubou yelled as he then tossed Chouji into the air.

"I'm not through yet! Nikuudan Sensha Maruyaki (Meat Tank Barbecue)!" Chouji yelled as he then performed his meat tank and before Jiroubou could react, Chouji slammed onto him with a giant version of his meat tank, practically leveling the entire battlefield. Chouji then bounced off and landed a few feet away, breathing heavily.

'That should have done it which is good too, considering that the curry pill is starting to affect me badly.' Chouji thought.

"Not bad kid but it's not good enough." Jiroubou said as he got back up, practically unscathed.

"No way! You shouldn't even be moving." Chouji exclaimed in disbelief.

"You stupid fatass. For a fighting style that uses extreme power, an even more powerful body is needed to harness it. But, let me reward your strength by showing a strength level that you can never surpass!" Jiroubou said. Suddenly, his skin turn dark red, his hair grew longer and darker, and his eyes turned black with yellow pupils.

"That's my curse seal level 2." Jiroubou said.

Chouji tried to punch Jiroubou and hits him but then the latter doesn't even budge the slightest.

"When I'm at this stage, I become literally invincible. My strength is magnified by ten and your strength becomes useless against me!" Jiroubou smirked, "Now, my turn! Striking Palm!" Jiroubou yelled and then struck Chouji hard in the stomach, knocking the boy down and making him revert to his original size.

"However, sustaining this form requires a bit of chakra." Jiroubou said as he was walking up to Chouji who at this moment was grimacing in pain.

'I can't move with this much pain. I should have known that the side-effects of the curry pill would be this great. The last one left is the red pepper pill, the most dangerous of them all because if I use it, I might die.' Chouji thought.

"Alright, let's go." Jiroubou said.

* * *

"He made a promise with us; He promised that he would catch up with us as soon as he is done. That's why he will defeat the enemy and catch up with us." Shikamaru said as he carved an arrow on a tree.

"Definitely." Naruto said.

"You're right about that. If he can beat just about anyone when he puts his mind to it." Kiba said.

"Alright everyone, before Chouji catches up to us, we'd better get Sasuke back." Shikamaru said and they headed off.

* * *

"Ke, I can't even get enough chakra." Jiroubou said as he caved Chouji into the ground and absorbed his chakra.

Chouji was breathing heavily and tried to move his hand toward his bag of chips but his hand was stomped on by Jiroubou.

"What, is this your last bite?" Jiroubou asked and then took the bag of chips and took the last chip, "Not even enough." Jiroubou said, "You're just a pawn that was tossed away by his so-called comrades. But don't worry, as soon as I finish with you, I'll go and kill those pathetic losers who abandoned you so die, you worthless fat ass." Jiroubou smirked.

* * *

_Flashback:_

"_You can't play ninja with us." A kid told a young Chouji._

"_Why is that?" Chouji asked._

"_Because whichever team you're on always loses." Another kid answered._

"_Yeah, you're so slow." A third kid said._

"_But we got odd numbers. Even a game like shogi is only fun when we have equal number of pieces." A young Shikamaru retorted, bringing hope to Chouji._

"_Having useless pieces is as good as having none at all." The leader of the other kids said._

_This saddened Chouji and made him leave, though that was not unnoticed by Shikamaru._

"_And then they said that the Akimichi only have fat dumb asses…everyone says that." Chouji said as he and his father, Choza, were sitting down on the rooftop of a building._

"_I see." Choza said, "Listen son, you've got a kinder heart than anyone I know and one day, there will be someone who sees that in you and become your nakama. If you meet him, treat him as your best friend and become comrades who trust each other more than anything else" Choza said to his son, reassuring him._

"_That's not such a bad idea." Shikamaru said as he was lying down near where the Akimichis were sitting._

"_Since when we're you here?" Chouji asked, surprised._

"_About ten minutes. As soon as the game started, I got bored and ran off here so I can see the clouds. Moving even one inch of my body is way too troublesome for me." Shikamaru said while yawning._

'_He's lazy.' Chouji thought with a sweat drop behind his head._

"_You're Shikaku's son, aren't you?" Choza asked._

"_Yes I am, Nara Shikamaru is my name." Shikamaru said, introducing himself, "And you, what's your name?" Shikamaru asked Chouji, much to the latter's surprise._

"_Chouji…Akimichi Chouji. Nice to meet you." Chouji answered._

"_By the way, I got some snacks." Chouji said._

"_Eh, thanks. Hey, about we watch the cloud and chill, Chouji?" Shikamaru suggested._

"_Sure!" Chouji exclaimed._

_End Flashback_

* * *

'Sorry Shikamaru but it doesn't like I'll make it but…I will defeat this guy no matter what.' Chouji thought as he then swallowed the red pill.

'Too late! Asshou (Pressure Palm)!" Jiroubou said as he slammed his right palm onto the ground, and creates a huge crater but then his eyes widened as Chouji had disappeared.

Chouji was right behind him, with wings of a butterfly in chakra on his back.

'Concentrate all of that chakra into my left hand…' Chouji thought as he gathered all of the chakra into his left hand.

"Gangeki (Boulder Strike)!' Jiroubou yelled as he tried to punch Chouji but to no avail as the latter blocked the attack.

"Useless. I am now 100 times stronger than I ever was!" Chouji said and then elbowed Jiroubou and knocked him back to the ground.

'How in the world can he produce this much chakra that it actually changes his appearance?' Jiroubou thought. He then looked up and saw Chouji right above him.

"You've never heard of the phrase "A grudge over food is deeper than the ocean"? That last strike was for eating my last bite. And one more, this strike will be heavier…" Chouji warned as he charged up his left fist.

'This isn't good." Jiroubou thought as he sensed the chakra behind the attack

"I can't forgive that you called me a fatass but most of all, I CAN NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR INSULTING MY BEST FRIEND!" Chouji yelled and prepared to unleash the final punch.

"W…wait!" Jiroubou said but it was too late as Chouji punched him, caving the ground underneath and killing Jiroubou as the latter reverted back to his normal form.

Chouji began to breathe heavily and then fell to the ground.

' I won…I actually won!' Chouji thought as he then got back up and then headed off, reflecting on his father's words:

"_Listen son, you've got a kinder heart than anyone I know and one day, there will be people who sees that in you and become your nakama. If you meet them, cherish them and become comrades who trust each other more than anything else"_

Chouji then stopped walking and started to cry,

'Dad…I've really made some great friends.' Chouji thought as he saw the arrow that carved on the tree. He then felt a pain in his heart and then slowly fell to the ground and as he did, a butterfly left the flower it was on and flew away.

* * *

Shikamaru and the others were pursuing the rest of the sound ninjas when suddenly, that same butterfly flew past Shikamaru, causing the boy's eyes to widen.

"What's the matter, Shikamaru?" Naruto asked.

"…It's nothing." Shikamaru said.

"Hey guys, we're getting close!" Kiba said as he smelled the scent of the sound four.

"How odd, there hasn't been a single trap yet. Shikamaru, what do you think?" Neji asked.

"We're being underestimated. They think we're already dead and that it's their friend who's coming back." Shikamaru answered.

"What the hell? I'll show them!" Kiba growled.

"But while we're crudely being underestimated, that gives us a chance to catch them off guard." Naruto said.

"Yeah…let's hit them with everything while they're vulnerable!" Shikamaru said.

To Be Continued…

* * *

(YYH preview music)

So, you think you know everything about me and the Byakugan, huh? You think this is all a game and you'll beat me so easily, huh? Well then, if that is what you think then you will be sorely disappointed because I'm about to show you the secret of my Byakugan and show you why you can never underestimate my abilities!

Next time on Namikaze Hokage Chapter 27: Enlightment! The True Power of Neji's Byakugan.

AN: Man, I loved doing that fight and it might have been the easiest to write and if you want to know, I based Chouji's style on sumo wrestling. The next one is going to be harder to write since both fighters use two totally different styles and I also have some surprises for Neji's Byakugan. Anyway, read and review as always and until next time!


	28. Enlightment! Neji's True Power!

AN: Naruto does not belong to me but to Kishimoto Masashi. However, the new jutsus do belong to me.

"Hey guys, we're getting close!" Kiba said as he smelled the scent of the sound four.

"How odd, there hasn't been a single trap yet. Shikamaru, what do you think?" Neji asked.

"We're being underestimated. They think we're already dead and that it's their friend who's coming back." Shikamaru answered.

"What the hell? I'll show them!" Kiba growled.

"But while we're crudely being underestimated, that gives us a chance to catch them off guard." Naruto said.

"Yeah…let's hit them with everything while they're vulnerable!" Shikamaru said.

* * *

Chapter 27: Enlightenment! Neji's True Power!

* * *

"What's taking Jiroubou?" Sakon asked.

"Don't worry about it, he's here now." Kidoumaru grinned as their fat friend arrived.

"What took you so long?" Sakon asked.

"Sorry, but it took longer for me to eat all of the chakra of these losers than I thought." Jirobou answered.

"You fatfuck, don't be so slow! Hurry up and carry that coffin! It's your job so do it, you inferior dickhead." Tayuya reprimanded him.

"Yeah…" Jirobou simply replied.

"Hey Jirobou, you're so obedient today." Kidoumaru said.

"Yeah, so?" Jiroubou asked.

"Well, what I'm saying is that we can't hand the coffin to you because you're not the real Jirobou!" Kidoumaru said as he tossed away the coffin. Jiroubou sucked his teeth and then pulled out his kunai and headed toward Kidoumaru.

"Let me handle it this time! Sakon, Tayuya, you guys go on ahead! I'll catch up!" Kidoumaru said as he headed toward Jiroubou.

Jiroubou swung his kunai but Kidoumaru blocked it with his first two arms.

"Jiroubou always reprimands Tayuya for her coarse language." Kidoumaru said.

"I see." Shikamaru said as he canceled his henge.

"Ninpou, Kumo Shibari (Ninja art, Spider Chain)!" Kidoumaru said as he shot a spider web from his mouth and binded Shikamaru into a tree. He then turned around and saw a pack of Narutos heading for him.

"You're mine!" Naruto yelled.

"Ninpou: Kumo Shokai (Ninja Art, Spider Web Opening)!" Kidoumaru yelled as he produces a huge spider web from the thread he had regurgitated from his mouth, trapping the Narutos.

'He should be wide open for their attacks.' Naruto thought.

"GATSUUGA!" Kiba yelled as the two piercing fangs headed straight for the floating Kidoumaru. However, Kidoumaru was able to avoid the attacks by swinging upward from his spider web threads.

"You think I'll let you escape!" Kiba growled as he and Kiba Akamaru each landed on a tree branch.

"My words exactly. Look upon your feet." Kidoumaru grinned and Kiba did as told and saw spider threads on his feet, gluing him to the tree branch.

"Coward!" Kiba roared.

* * *

"What the hell could that fatass be doing?!" Tayuya asked as she and Sakon were dashing through the forest.

"It was a mistake after all to leave the weakest behind." Sakon said.

* * *

"If you think that will hold us, you got another thing coming!" Kiba growled.

"Yeah yeah, keep on whining, loser." Kidoumaru smirked.

'He's mine.' Neji thought as he was dashing straight for the unsuspecting Kidoumaru but to his surprise, he missed his attack as Kidoumaru disengaged from his threads, allowing him to fall down and avoid Neji's Jyuuken strike. Kidoumaru then created a spider web and trapped Neji in it.

'He was able to defend against all of our attacks.' Shikamaru thought.

"I'll cocoon you here!" Kidoumaru said as he then started to wrap his threads around Neji more and more, trapping in a cocoon. Naruto tried to get himself out of the web he was trapped on with his kunai but was unable to cut it.

'What the heck is that web made of? I can't cut it!' Naruto thought.

"It's no use trying to cut it, kid. That spider web is unbreakable, not even two elephants could break it." Kidoumaru chuckled, "Hmm, Kage Bushin? This should be interesting." Kidoumaru then said as he noticed the clones. He then breathes in, and started to chew on something.

'I'm stuck here. This stickiness…it's made by mixing his chakra with his body fluid.' Neji thought as he was analyzing the threads in the cocoon he was trapped in.

'Furthermore…it's still strong even after leaving his body. His chakra flows inside these webs forever. This level of jutsu is unreal but however, I can defeat it. All I have to do is focus.' Neji thought.

Kidoumaru continued to chew and then finally puts all of his hands into his mouth.

"Ninpou: Kumonenkin (Ninja Art: Golden Spider Spikes)!" Kidoumaru said as he pulled golden spider spikes out of his mouth and bit them off.

'The color is different from before.' Shikamaru observed. "What is he going to do?" Shikamaru then asked.

His eyes then widened as he saw them transform into more solid forms, 'They're hardening?' Shikamaru thought.

"Okay kid. We're going to play a fun game and it plays like this!" Kidoumaru said as he then hurled one of the spikes at the Narutos and struck one, only for it to disappear.

"Oh! I see we have a lucky one here! But let's see how long that last." Kidoumaru said and started to toss spikes after spikes but each Naruto he strikes disappears until one is left.

"Shit, you're really are lucky. But, now you're really gonna die!" Kidoumaru laughed and then tossed the last spike.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru yelled as he saw his friend get hit.

But then, Naruto poofs out, surprising Kidoumaru.

"RASENGAN!" Naruto yelled as he dashed toward the shocked Kidoumaru with his Rasengan but failed to hit him as Kidoumaru moved out of the way in time and Naruto instead blew up the spot where Kidoumaru was just a second ago.

'Holy crap. If he got me with that jutsu, I would have been dead. But, his whole plan was to set up an opening via his clones in order to use that jutsu. To think he would plan so viciously, he's good.' Kidoumaru thought, "However…" Kidoumaru started to say as he then wrapped a spider thread around Naruto's right hand, "I'm better!" Kidoumaru finished as he pulled Naruto toward him only for the thread to be cut off.

"What the?" Kidoumaru growled as he realized what happened.

"Thanks for buying me so time Naruto." Neji said as he caught the falling Naruto and then landed on a tree.

"You…how did you?" Kidoumaru asked Neji.

"Things that are made of chakra can easily be destroyed by chakra. Basically, all things made of chakra become meaningless in front of my Jyuken. This guy's jutsu, I'm the only can handle it." Neji said, saying the last part to his teammates.

"Go, I'll take care of him." Neji repeated to his teammates.

Akamaru then started to whine and hid inside of Kiba's jacket.

"Hey guys. According to Akamaru, this guy is way stronger than the fatty Chouji fought, a lot stronger." Kiba said.

"But like we planned before, all of us will have to fight them one on one, right?" Neji asked.

"Right." Shikamaru replied.

"Now you guys go or else Sasuke will be lost! Meanwhile, I'll fight him and try to catch up with you guys later." Neji said.

"Alright then, let's go." Shikamaru said.

"Yeah and Chouji will definitely catch up to us!" Kiba said with Akamaru barking in agreement.

"Like I'll let you escape!" Kidoumaru said as he then shot a spider web toward them but it was then destroyed by Neji who cuts it down.

"And who said you could go after them?" Neji said as he then landed on the tree branch right across from Kidoumaru, blocking him from the others.

"That's okay. Besides, it looks like you're the one of the strongest of the team. Good, because I don't think I can't hold my playfulness any longer. If I don't play this game right, it'll be a waste. First off, I'll play with you for three minutes before I kill you!" Kidoumaru said.

Kidoumaru then began to chew on some substance and then started to spit out spider webs at Neji.

'So many of them!' Neji thought as he was trying to destroy them but then was finally pinned into a tree by one and then his limbs were then pinned down by other webs.

"Got you!" Kidoumaru said as he saw his attack connect, "You are talented in the art of chakra usage and you have sharp eyes. From the chakra openings in your hands, you emit a sharp needle-like chakra and cut through the thinnest part of the web-like chakra with amazing precision. So that means this must be the Jyuuken I heard from Orochimaru-sama. However, once I disable your hands, you won't be able to cut my webs. Hmph, games really get boring once you know how to win. Now die!" Kidoumaru said before shooting out a longer spider spike from his mouth.

But then, Neji emitted chakra from all of his body and broke free of the web and then ducked the spider spike.

'How did he?' Kidoumaru thought but then his eyes widened as Neji was right in front of him.

"Game over. Jyuukenryuu: Hakke Rokujyuuyonshou (Gentle Fist Style: Eight Triagrams, 64 palms)!" Neji said as he then got into his stance and then unleashed his attack on Kidoumaru, slamming him through a tree and making him fall to the ground. Neji then landed on the ground to see what had happened of Kidoumaru and then his eyes frowned as he saw the man getting back up.

"What is that?" Neji asked as he saw golden plates covering Kidoumaru's body.

'Golden skin?' Neji thought as the golden plates then broke off Kidoumaru and then landed on the ground.

'Those are made from the same materials that he used to create those lances he spat out a couple of minutes ago.' Neji thought as he observed the remains of the golden plates.

"Ha, that was a close one. I heard that if anyone gets hit by one you guys' attacks, they will be unable to use their chakra afterwards." Kidoumaru grinned.

"How monstrous…it seems like it's not just your mouth." Neji said.

"My Kumo-Nenkin is a form of metal that instantly hardens itself upon coming into contact with the air from outside, blocking all chakra. Also, I can emit it from anywhere, even my sweat glands." Kidoumaru explained.

'Which means attacking these holes will be useless now…' Neji thought.

'This guy is a pure close-range taijutsu user which means my best bet to beat him will be to use long distance.' Kidoumaru said and then simply disappeared, to the surprise of Neji.

'Where is he?' Neji thought as he looked around.

'This attack won't even make a sound.' Kidoumaru thought from his hiding spot as he then lets a spider thread attached around his finger fall off. Suddenly, a kunai with a tag mark heads toward Neji who moves out of the way.

'Wait a minute! This kunai is a fake!' Neji thought as he realized what it was.

'Game over.' Kidoumaru thought as a volley of golden spikes headed toward Neji.

"KAITEN!" Neji yelled as he then performed his rotation technique and deflected the spikes away from him, much to Kidoumaru's surprise.

'What the hell? Does he have eyes in the back of his head? That defense, he used chakra to deflect the attacks.' Kidoumaru thought, surprised.

Suddenly, Neji grabbed a kunai and launched it in the direction of Kidoumaru who had to duck to avoid getting stabbed.

"I know you're there. Come out now!" Neji said, as if he could see Kidoumaru.

'Those eyes of his…they're not just for detecting the flow of chakra I see. This is the first time I've ever met such a jutsu user.' Kidoumaru thought before jumping off the branch he was hiding from and then used spider threads to hang upside from the tree. He then activated his curse seal level 1.

"I gotta admit, this game is a bit more difficult than I expected. So from now on, I'm playing serious." Kidoumaru said.

'His chakra activity is absolutely stunning…Like he was another person.' Neji thought as he saw the activity of Kidoumaru's chakra with his Byakugan.

'Those moves he did just now….that means that he can sense an attack coming from behind and dodge it which means those eyes give him a 360 degree field vision and the ability to see chakra inside of people and substances. On top of that, he's got that jutsu' Kidoumaru thought as he analyzed what had happened so far.

'Well then…' Kidoumaru thought as he did bit on his finger, and then did a seal with his first two arms and then created a small spider web with his second set of arms before slamming his left hand onto the web, "Kuchiyose No Jutsu!" Kidoumaru yelled and then a large black/orange spider was formed.

"What in the world?" Neji exclaimed as he saw the spider.

"If this is a rotational defensive move, then all I have to do is keep him from spinning!" Kidoumaru said as he then created a golden spike from his mouth and then cut open the large cocoon that the spider excreted from her hole in the back, and once he did that, a legion of smaller spiders emerged and headed toward Neji.

"KAITEN!" Neji yelled as he tried to deflect the spiders but then his Kaiten was slowed down by the threads the spiders used and then finally stopped rotating.

'It's stopped!' Kidoumaru thought, "There!" Kidoumaru yelled as he threw a golden spike at Neji, only for the latter to see it coming and deflect it with his chakra.

"Damn." Kidoumaru cursed, 'He emitted chakra at the last minute to alter it's momentum.' Kidoumaru analyzed.

'What the? They're halting the rotation of the chakra by binding it with threads of chakra? These things…' Neji thought, "I'll have to cut them first!" Neji said as he cut off the threads that were on him, 'If Kaiten doesn't work, then I'll simply have to avoid them one by one!' Neji thought.

'He's a close-quarters fighter who uses martial arts…He's not so dangerous once you keep your distance from him. I'll simply stay back and watch how you cope with this…ha ha ha ha ha!' Kidoumaru thought.

Neji then sensed golden spikes coming at him and he jumped up to avoid them. Then another volley came from his right, and then flipped in the air and ducked them. He then saw spiders coming from above and he then got into his stance,

"Hakke Rokujyuyonshuu!" Neji yelled and then started up his attack, hitting the spiders.

'Damn, there's too many. I guess I have no choice but to use the first of my new techniques.' Neji said as he then got into another stance but this time, his left leg was stretched, and the rest of his body leaned back with his left arm stretched and open and his right fist closed.

'What the hell kind of stance is that?' Kidoumaru thought.

"Hashikisho Ryuu: Shiki No Mai (Eight Movements Palm Style: Dance of the Movements)!" Neji said and then started to hit all of the spiders using different stances and to Kidoumaru's surprise, was overwhelming the number of spiders.

"If you want to fight with numbers, I got plenty where that came from!" Kidoumaru said as he unleashed another pack of spiders.

'Dammit, even with my new technique, I can't beat them all and on top of that, I still can't use Kaiten.' Neji thought as he tried to use the said technique but was unable to because of the stickiness of the threads on him.

Suddenly, three golden spikes headed toward him from behind and he ducked and avoided only two of them as the third slashed through his right shoulder.

'What's this? There was one he could not avoid. In retrospective, it seems as if he has a field vision of 360 degrees and it's a combination of penetrating sight and a telescopic vision that can see through distant places that he uses to develop strategies against the enemy's attacks. In addition, seeing such a wide area in conjunction with the 360 degrees is an amazing range of detection. Deducing from his reaction just now, he is able to detect almost any dagger that comes within the 50 meter radius of the sphere around himself. However, one of them was able to get through and injure. I wonder why…' Kidoumaru thought.

* * *

"Never mind the fat fuck Jiroubou but what the hell is Kidoumaru doing? That piece of shit…" Tayuya growled.

"He has a knack for playing around often. Maybe he found someone interesting." Sakon suggested.

"Maybe but that dumbass has a knack for going to level 2 too fast." Tayuya said.

"True but however, once he goes to level 2, the opponent is dead for sure." Sakon said.

* * *

"Alright, all the traps are set." Kidoumaru said as he swung into another hiding spot in the trees, 'There will be even more than comes out. What are you going to do now?' Kidoumaru thought and then unleashed the volley of spiders once again.

Neji tried to dodge them but as he did, spikes were also shot at him, cutting him the elastic that was holding his long ponytail and then, two more spikes struck his back, making him cough blood before falling on the ground.

'He he…I found the perfect strategy. It seems that defensive move of his is actually a way to overcome the shortcomings of his vision which means only one thing; His visual detection is not perfect.' Kidoumaru thought.

"What are you struggling for? The game is already over! A scrub is meant to be defeated quickly in a game and that is something you can never overcome! You can never beat me!" Kidoumaru said, laughing.

* * *

_Flashback:_

_"Hinata, you should give up now, you're too weak." Neji said, and then added on, "I know you've been training very hard to improve yourself but in the end, it will never matter because there will always exists an irrefutable gap between your skill level and my skill level. All of us are born with different skill levels, levels that indicate how proficient a ninja will become. Let's look at the last fight for example. It was obvious that the Namikaze was born with a higher skill level than the Inuzuka and despite all of the efforts of the Inuzuka boy, in the end Naruto won because he had the stronger skill level and thus a gap between those two existed. And the same goes for you and I, there's a gap that you can never overcome and this is why you will always lose against me. It's not fate, it's reality." Neji said._

_"Even if there was no gap, you still wouldn't make a good shinobi, Hinata-sama. Do you want to know why?" Neji asked the girl._

_"Why is he berating her so much?" Sakura said._

_"You're too kind, you wish for harmony and will do anything to avoid conflict. Furthermore, you have no self-confidence. You even only took this exam only in order for your teammates to take it as well since the chunnin exam can only be taken in teams of three. You couldn't turn down your teammates' request in the end, could you?" Neji asked._

_"You're wrong, Neji-nisan! I took this exam willingly so I can prove my strength to others, to show that I am not the little girl anymore, to anyone, especially you!" Hinata said with stern eyes._

_"That's the way to say it Hinata!" Sasuke cheered, but then quickly calmed down when everyone looked at him._

_"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Neji laughed._

_"Why is he laughing for?" Naruto asked._

_"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. I never believed that you, Hinata-sama, would be this foolish! You really think you can prove anything with that miniscule strength of yours? Don't be so naive, this isn't a world where you can overcome everything through sheer willpower. There is a gap that always exists between individuals and one who is ignorant of that gap is a fool and that is why you are a fool, Hinata." Neji said._

_"Why are you saying this? Why can't I be strong?" Hinata asked._

_"Because it is irrefutable truth, Hinata. Why do you think there are victors and losers in battles? That is because there was a gap that existed between both warriors, a gap that one could not overcome. Even if you were to train for ten years, all I will have to do is train for five and I would still be stronger and that is reality, Hinata, and it's time for you to wake up and realize it." Neji glared._

_"Shut the hell up! Hinata, don't let that asshole get to you, he doesn't know what's he talking about!" Sasuke roared._

_"You should shut your mouth and stay out of your business if you know what's good for you Uchiha." Neji said._

_"What did you say?" Sasuke growled._

_"You heard me. After all those training sessions you and Lee took with Gai-sensei, and yet neither one of you can even beat me. That is the proof that the gap exists and that I am right and you are fantasies of overcoming obstacles through sheer will is truly a fantasy. However, Hinata-sama, if you want to continue, then by all means I will not turn down this challenge as I will be more than happy to show you the gap between you and I." Neji smirked and then activated his Byakugan_

_End Flashback_

* * *

'I was such a fool back then.' Neji thought as he breathed heavily.

'Here's the last one.' Kidoumaru said as he then let go of the spider threads that held the huge spider and made it fall on Neji who struck the spider with a Jyuuken strike, making it explode only for a large amount of spider thread to come out from the exploded spider and then spikes flew at Neji at the same time. Blood flew as Neji was on the ground, with more spikes on his back. But then, he woke up and started to stand back up.

"I see." Kidoumaru said, 'He's dodging just a hair's width away from the critical organs and thus won't die easily from daggers shot 50 meters away. I've had enough fun with this shitty game so consider this as a token of my thanks.' Kidoumaru thought as he excreted from his mouth a huge amount of his kumo-nenkin which then turned into a solid bow and arrow. 'Accuracy…100 percent! Maximum Destructive Impact!' Kidoumaru thought as he prepared his attack, "DIE!" Kidoumaru said and then shot the arrow at Neji's location and upon contact, the arrow made a large impact.

'It's over.' Kidoumaru thought.

The smoke cleared however, and Neji was still alive as the arrow struck 10 ft away from him.

'What?' Kidoumaru thought, surprised.

'That was too close…but I still managed to deflect it a little.' Neji thought as he breathed heavily, 'One thing I'm certain of, he's uncovered the secret of the Byakugan' Neji thought before closing his eyes and winced in pain at the hole in his left shoulder and then fell down.

'How did it miss by 15 cm upward? Unless he must have been covering all of that wide space with his chakra so that he could detect the trajectory of my arrows with chakra. That's the only way he can dodge them and thus my analysis holds true. His eyes still cannot catch a glimpse of my attacks!' Kidoumaru thought.

'Damn it, he doesn't waste his attacks. He is planning his attacks based on the information he has gathered from his analysis. He must have discovered the weakness of these eyes. He is definitely the strongest foe I have ever fought. However, I can't give up! No, not while I can still use that!' Neji thought.

'I've analyzed all of the attacks I've mounted against and it's becoming clear to me…Behind his first thoracic vertebrae, there exists a small blind spot starting from a miniscule point.' Kidoumaru but then his eyes widened in surprise when he saw Neji sitting down in a meditative pose.

'What the hell is he doing now?' Kidoumaru asked.

Neji then breathed in and out and then got back up and started to move his arms and legs around, in a fluid motion, doing punches and kicks.

'He's doing a kata (detailed choreographed patterns of movements often performed either solo or in pairs.) now?' Kidoumaru thought, "Either you've lost your mind or just gave up! Either way, I'll finish you off with this!" Kidoumaru chuckled as he prepared another arrow attack, 'DIE!" Kidoumaru said as he unleashed his second bow attack.

The bow came inches from Neji who then struck it with his right palm and deflected it.

'WHAT? IMPOSSIBLE! HOW COULD HE DO THAT?' Kidoumaru thought in complete disbelief.

'You must be wondering how I was able to do that, correct? It's because of Nanteki Keimou (Inner Enlightenment)." Neji said.

"Ha, that was just a lucky shot! This time, I'll get you!" Kidoumaru said as he once again shot an arrow but again, Neji was able to deflect it.

"Give up! It's useless against my Nanteki Keimou." Neji said.

'How in the world can he detect and deflect them when a minute ago, he couldn't even do that? My analysis revealed that he had a blind spot and that as long as I targeted that blind spot, he wouldn't be able to defend himself against my attacks!' Kidoumaru thought.

"My Nanteki Keimou is technique created through meditation and chakra. The Shaolin Monks believed meditation was key in order to give develop mental focus and mental clarity and also, meditation allowed one to focus more and enhance their senses. Basically, I am applying the same philosophy and thus my Nanteki Keimou allows me to use my other senses in conjunction with my own Byakugan, thus creating two Byakugans." Neji explained.

'But then, that would give him a field vision of 720 degrees! Impossible!' Kidoumaru thought as he realized what Neji said.

"Did you really think that you're the only one who knows of this weakness of the Byakugan? I already discovered it a while ago and thus created that technique to overcome the weakness of my kekkai genkai. Also, you said that the strongest player is the one that always wins, right? Well, you're wrong. It is not the strongest that always wins but the one who perseveres the most that wins! Hakke Kusho!" Neji said and then twisted around and unleashed his Hakke Kusho in the direction that Kidoumrau was and the attack struck Kidoumaru in the chest, making him cough blood and knocking him off his tree branch. But before he could hit the ground, Neji appeared right above him.

"And now to finish this! Hashikisho: Hasho Soushiki (Eight Movements Palm: Eight Palms Funeral)!" Neji said and then struck Kidoumaru all over his body with palm strikes before knocking him to the ground with a final palm strike. Seconds later, Neji landed on his feet, breathing heavily.

"Damn it…I'm so beat up." Kidoumaru said weakly as he reverted back to his original form, "I guess you were right, the one who perseveres wins out in the end. However, it is also the most cunning that wins in the end." Kidoumaru grinned as he let go of a psider thread one of his fingers and before Neji could even move, a dagger plunged into near his stomach.

"In the end, you left your guard down. I may die…but I am going to take you down…with me.' Kidoumaru grinned as he said his last words before he died out.

'I'll just meditate for a little bit and then head back to catch up with the others.' Neji thought as he then sat down in a meditative pose and started to meditate for a little bit before his head went down and his hands went limp, and then fell to the ground.

* * *

"They're close!" Kiba said as he caught the scent of Sakon and Tayuya.

"We've got two more enemies and we've got three. So it's 3 vs 2 and if we play our hand right, we might be able to finish it in the next encounter." Shikamaru said.

"You mean it's four against two! Don't forget Akamaru!" Kiba said and Akamaru barked, agreeing with his master.

"Aye aye. Sorry, it's four versus two. However, whatever we do, strategy comes first." Shikamaru said.

* * *

"It's nearing dusk. It seems like they've got their hands full." Sakon said.

"That doesn't matter, what matters is Orochimaru-sama. We've only accomplished one-third of the plan in half a day." Tayuya said.

"Yeah, this is not looking good. Even if all goes well, we're not even sure we can make it." Sakon said.

* * *

"AARRGHH!" Orochimaru yelled in pain as he was in the shower as blood was dripping from him.

"Orochimaru-sama!" Kimimaro and Kabuto both exclaimed as they heard him yell in agony.

'We ran out of time…this is the limit.' Kabuto thought.

"It seems like those four are useless after all. Kabuto-sensei, give me my vaccine shot now so I can get going and retrieve what Orochimaru-sama desires. Besides, it is the only way to pay him back for my failure." Kimimaro said.

"Okay. Meanwhile, I'll get a body ready for Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto said.

"Damn you, Sandaime." Orochimaru said.

* * *

"Everyone listen closely. I want you all kill each other until there's one left standing. I'll release the last one from this prison." Kabuto said with a smile to the prisoners as he entered the prison.

* * *

"Hey, wait a second!" Tayuya said as she felt something move in the coffin.

"Is it about to start?" Sakon asked as they stopped on a tree branch.

"No, it should take a bit longer but…" Tayuya started to say when Sakon suddenly sensed something and turned his head around only to see Naruto, Kiba, and Shikamaru.

"Dammit, what were those idiots Jiroubou and Kidoumaru doing?" Tayuya asked.

"Now we've caught up!" Naruto smirked.

"Yeah yeah! I'll kill them all within seconds!" Sakon roared and dashed toward our heroes at high speed.

"Damn, this fast?!" Kiba growled as he and Shikamaru headed for Sakon.

"Eat this!" Sakon said, "Taren Ken (Mach Punch)!" Sakon yelled as he unleashed a volley of punches using his left hand and struck Shikamaru and Kiba with it, only to disssapear. Sakon's eyes then widened as he saw Naruto making the Rasengan, 'The chakra on his palm…' Sakon thought.

'That must be a shadow clone.' Tayuya thought as she looked at Naruto.

"Fuuton: Rasengan!" Naruto yelled as he prepared to strike Sakon only for the latter to grab his arm, thus making the Rasengan useless.

"If I grab them before you let that thing go, it's checkmate kid." Sakon said, smirking.

'Now, Kiba!' Naruto thought as Naruto suddenly disappeared, revealing it to be a shadow clone, and then Kiba came up with his piercing fang attack, heading straight for Sakon.

'That was a clone too!' Sakon thought as he ducked to avoid the blow.

But then, Kiba did not stop as he headed for Tayuya.

"'They placed us both in a straight path. In reality, they were aiming for this!" Tayuya said as she realized what was going on.

"You think you can get us with some shit like this!?" Sakon said as he headed toward Tayuya.

"Kage Mane No Justu, success!" Shikamaru said.

"What the?" Tayuya asked, only to find herself not moving, 'Damn it! It was a diversion all along.' Tayuya thought. Then, Kiba came at her but instead of hitting of her, he then grabbed the coffin to her surprise.

"Tayuya! What the hell are you doing!?" Sakon asked.

"No…it's!!" Tayuya replied as she was then moved by Shikamaru in the way of Sakon.

"What are you doing!!" Sakon said as he saw her in his path, 'Shit…I can't dodge.' Sakon thought and then the two sound ninjas ended up colliding on each other.

"Catch it!" Kiba said as he hurled the coffin at Naruto who caught it.

"Nice job everyone!" Naruto said.

"As I expected, they've got so many opening. It's one thing to consider about individuals with too much talent, and because of their flaw, all went according to plan!" Shikamaru said.

* * *

Neji defeats Kidoumaru and Shikamaru and the others retrieve the coffin! Next time on Namikaze Hokage: Kimimaro returns!

AN: I guess it wasn't so hard to write though it was still pretty hard to describe the action in this chapter. And before anyone asks me, Neji will absolutely not die. Neither Chouji of course, but Neji will ABSOLUTELY not die. I got too much character development left for him to die now. So as always, read and review and until next time.


	29. Miscalculation

Author's Note: Naruto nor the characters belong to me, they all belong to Kishimoto Masashi. All I am doing is using them in a fictional story.

_Time to answer to some reviews:_

_Advent Griever: The Fuuton: Rasengan is not that powerful, at least compared to the Rasenshuriken so it's not that overpowered of a move._

_Demondog666: Don't worry, I got something for Sasuke. Remember, there are two Sasukes and he did receive the Dragon Seal back at that town that Kyo brought him to.  
_

_Dragon and Sword Master: What did you mean by it's starting get similar to the American anime?_

"Eat this!" Sakon said, "Taren Ken (Mach Punch)!" Sakon yelled as he unleashed a volley of punches using his left hand and struck Shikamaru and Kiba with it, only to disssapear. Sakon's eyes then widened as he saw Naruto making the Rasengan, 'The chakra on his palm…' Sakon thought.

'That must be a shadow clone.' Tayuya thought as she looked at Naruto.

"Fuuton: Rasengan!" Naruto yelled as he prepared to strike Sakon only for the latter to grab his arm, thus making the Rasengan useless.

"If I grab them before you let that thing go, it's checkmate kid." Sakon said, smirking.

'Now, Kiba!' Naruto thought as Naruto suddenly disappeared, revealing it to be a shadow clone, and then Kiba came up with his piercing fang attack, heading straight for Sakon.

'That was a clone too!' Sakon thought as he ducked to avoid the blow.

But then, Kiba did not stop as he headed for Tayuya.

"'They placed us both in a straight path. In reality, they were aiming for this!" Tayuya said as she realized what was going on.

"You think you can get us with some shit like this!?" Sakon said as he headed toward Tayuya.

"Kage Mane No Justu, success!" Shikamaru said.

"What the?" Tayuya asked, only to find herself not moving, 'Damn it! It was a diversion all along.' Tayuya thought. Then, Kiba came at her but instead of hitting of her, he then grabbed the coffin to her surprise.

"Tayuya! What the hell are you doing!?" Sakon asked.

"No…it's!!" Tayuya replied as she was then moved by Shikamaru in the way of Sakon.

"What are you doing!!" Sakon said as he saw her in his path, 'Shit…I can't dodge.' Sakon thought and then the two sound ninjas ended up colliding on each other.

"Catch it!" Kiba said as he hurled the coffin at Naruto who caught it.

"Nice job everyone!" Naruto said.

"As I expected, they've got so many opening. It's one thing to consider about individuals with too much talent, and because of their flaw, all went according to plan!" Shikamaru said.

* * *

Namikaze Hokage 

Chapter 28: Miscalculation

* * *

"Hey, you told me you'll get me out of here! Keep your promise! What are you doing, hurry and open the gate!" The last prisoner yelled at the camera which Kabuto used to survey the prison. 

Suddenly, the sound of a door opened, catching the prisoner's attention. Then, Orochimaru entered and started to walk toward the prisoner and stopped when he was a few inches from him.

"W…who the hell are you?" The prisoner asked. He then looked at Orochimaru's eyes and an overwhelming sense of fear took hold of him. It was as if he was looking right at a large snake, ready to devour him like a mice.

'This is the end…I will be eaten here.' The prisoner thought as he sensed his doom soon approaching.

"I will let you out of "here"…and also grant you one wish." Orochimaru said, making the young man flinch.

"You captured my clansmen for your experiments. I want you to release them." The young man asked.

"It will be done." Orochimaru said. He then saw the sad look on the young man's face, and grinned, "Do not worry…Your strong intentions will reside within me as remnants in my sub-consciousness. You will not lose everything. Now…I will take your body." Orochimaru said.

Then, a grueling yell could be heard from the young man as Orochimaru took over him.

* * *

'Now, he will have to stay in a body that won't permit transfer for another few years. But, we have the next time!' Kabuto thought as he had witnessed everything from one of the cameras. Kabuto then took out a needle and turned over to Kimimaro, who was sitting on the table, waiting for his shot. 

"I see Orochimaru was able to transfer successfully." Kimimaro said.

"Yes but it's not the body he wanted." Kabuto said as he walked up to Kimimaro and prepared his arm for the shot.

"The body he wanted was Sasuke." Kimimaro said, "However, he wouldn't have needed that boy's body if it wasn't for my illness." Kimimaro added.

"Are you jealous of Sasuke, Kimimaro? Besides, your body, despite the fact that we found a vaccine to help with the illness, is longer perfect for Orochimaru's desire." Kabuto said as he administered the shot.

"I am not jealous of Sasuke. If he is the body that Orochimaru desires then I will not stand in the way. The only person I am angry at is myself for not being able to fulfill Orochimaru's desire." Kimimaro said.

"However, you can do something that Sasuke will not be able to do." Kabuto said as he cleaned out the wound from the shot he gave.

"And what is that, Kabuto-sensei?" Kimimaro asked.

"You can become his spear and shield. With you near indestructible body and powerful kekkai genkai, you can be his spear and shield and no one else can and you might be able to do it for all eternity. Now that is a greater way to serve his purpose, right Kimimaro?" Kabuto asked with a smile.

"You're right, Kabuto-sensei. And I will start by getting what Orochimaru-sama desires." Kimimaro said as he got off the table and then headed out in order to get Sasuke.

'Such determination…but I wonder if that will be his undoing in the end.' Kabuto thought with a grin.

* * *

"Okay guys, let's get out of here now!" Kiba said and the others nodded before heading out. 

"You fuckers! I won't let you escape!" Sakon roared as he switched to his curse seal level 1 form and began chasing the trio.

'How fast is that bastard?' Kiba thought as the three saw Sakon heading for them at a high speed.

"Akamaru!" Kiba yelled as he saw his dog putting seal tags on trees, "Hurry up when you're done setting the trap!" Kiba told his dog.

"STOP HOWLING YOU BITCH!!" Sakon roared as he saw the dog setting up the trap.

Akamaru tried to get away but then slipped and fell down and as he did, the seal started to fizz.

"Akamaru!" Kiba yelled as he saw that his dog had tripped near the seal and could be blown up. He thus changed course and headed straight for him.

"I'll kill you!" Sakon roared as he was nearing Akamaru.

Then, the trap went off, setting off an explosion that knocked Kiba, Akamaru, and Sakon down the cliff.

"Kiba! Akamaru!" Naruto yelled as he and Shikamaru saw what happened.

"You son of a bitch!" Tayuya cursed as she headed for Naruto and Shikamaru.

"Holy crap, that other one is coming!" Shikamaru said, "Naruto, you gotta take the barrel and go ahead! I'll do something about this!" Shikamaru said.

Tayuya then widened her eyes and stopped moving.

"Shit…" Tayuya said with a hint of fear in her voice.

"There's someone behind us!" Naruto said as he sensed another presence, and he and Shikamaru turned around only to get knocked back by roundhouse kicks to the face courtesy of none other than…

"Kimimaro!" Tayuya exclaimed.

"You're too late, Tayuya." Kimimaro said.

"Who the hell is that?" Naruto asked as he and Shikamaru recovered from the blows

"It seems like I've miscalculated. Sorry, Naruto." Shikamaru said, 'This is not good. This guy seems like he's on a whole other level compared to the others but first, we have to clean up the situation.' Shikamaru thought.

"Where are the other three pieces of trash? Don't tell me they couldn't even beat genins." Kimimaro said.

"I don't know but what the heck are you doing here? I thought you told us to finish the mission by ourselves!" Tayuya countered.

"Yes I did but because of your carelessness, Orochiamaru had to transfer into another body just to survive. I knew I should have never left such an important mission to you four imbeciles." Kimimaro said.

'Orochimaru!' Naruto thought as the name of the snake sannin brought out a surge of anger within the boy.

"This vessel is the key to Orochimaru-sama's dream but like I said before, you weaklings were a bit too late and pushed his dream back even further and that is something unforgivable and inexcusable." Kimimaro said as he put his hand on the barrel. He then grinned and reappeared next to Tayuya, grabbed her by the neck with his right hand and lifted her up, surprising the two genins.

"I thought those guys were teammates?" Naruto asked.

"Well, it seems that he doesn't think much of them at all." Shikamaru replied.

"Listen well your worthless whore, because I'm only saying this once. The only reason why I have yet to kill you is because you still have a mission to accomplish by staying alive. So if I were you, I would take out those two pieces of garbage over there." Kimimaro said before dropping her and then leaving with the barrel.

"Damn that bastard." Tayuya said.

"Damn it, he's getting away with Sasuke!" Naruto growled.

"Calm down Naruto, I have a plan but you must move according to what I tell you or else this plan fails, got it?" Shikamaru said, calming down the Namikaze

"Understood." Naruto said, nodding his head and they began discussing their plan.

'Hmph, that black-haired guy is a mid-range one-trick slut, and the blond uses shadow clones.' Tayuya thought as she analyzed her two opponents.

"Got it?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yep, let's do it." Naruto replied.

"Bring it on, trash." Tayuya smirked.

"It's two on one! We've got the advantage on our side! It's not something we two can't take care of!" Shikamaru yelled as he and Naruto dashed toward Tayuya with a kunai in hand.

"That's right!" Naruto yelled.

"Man, you guys really are just a bunch of morons if you think something like that it's going to work!" Tayuya said.

"Don't underestimate our teamwork!" Both genin said.

Shikamaru swung his kunai at Tayuya who blocked it with her flute.

"Naruto! Now!" Shikamaru yelled and the blonde flew toward Tayuya as he was to punch her but then…flew right past her and headed off.

"You son of a bitch! You tricked me! What kind of teamwork is that you damn bastards…" Tayuya said but then stopped as she saw Shikamaru perform his technique and moved out of the shadow's range in order to avoid the jutsu.

"Seems like you won't fall into the same trap so easily. Well, I guess I'll be satisfied with the fact that he got away but remember this. Jutsus are not the only weapons a shinobi possess." Shikamaru said.

* * *

"So, Kimimaro went out to retrieve Sasuke, huh? With him out, this mission will finish quicker. But I wonder if he hates me for choosing Sasuke?" Orochimaru asked in his new body with bandages on his face.

"I do not believe so. His ideals are soaked in darkness like yours and he looks up to you as a deity and pursue and worships you like a zealot. In addition to that, he is an heir to a ninja clan that possessed the most perfect and most powerful bodies of all and inherited all of their abilities. However, because of the illness he contracted and despite the vaccine I was able to develop for him, his body is no longer perfect of it. No matter how many times he takes the vaccine, his body will never be fully healthy and thus unable to satisfy your desires, Orochimaru-sama. And also, if he was not tainted by it back then, the assassination of the Hokage would have gone smoothly. It's unfortunate that we were able to create an antidote only afterwards." Kabuto said.

"Things don't always go according to plan." Orochimaru said.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kimimaro was running past the forest when he sensed a presence and stopped in the middle of a field of grass 

'That Tayuya…I'll kill her once I get back.' Kimimaro thought as he turned around and saw Naruto standing there with a glare.

"Before I kill you, answer me this; why is Orochimaru after Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"Orochimaru-sama has already completed the jutsu of immortality but in order to acquire the jutsu and the entire world, he needs time…" Kimimaro began to explain.

"What does that have to with Sasuke? Naruto asked.

"Immortality doesn't necessarily indicate the immortality of his body. He must replace his body with a newer and stronger one before his current one succumbs…" Kimimaro said.

"So that's what Sasuke's for?" Naruto asked angrily.

"That is correct." Kimimaro said as he got into his stance.

"If you think I'll let you do such a thing, then you must be out of your mind!" Naruto said, "Tenkazedou!" Naruto then yelled as he activated his wind puppet technique and flew toward Kimimaro at high speed.

'He's fast!' Kimimaro thought as he saw Naruto head for him

"Tenkazedou: Rajinsoku(Heavenly Wind Body: Swift Storm)!" Naruto yelled as he then unleashed his high-wind pressure attack he has used on Gaara and it push Kimimaro back a bit but it left no scratch on him.

"Not even a scratch? That body of yours must possess an extremely strong skeletal structure in order to tank a powerful blow like that. Not only that but you probably possess a kekkai genkai that allows you to grow even more bones, thus creating an additional set of bones to protect your organs thereby fortifying your whole internal body and making the external part of your body so hard that it reduces the impact of every attack by half its strength." Naruto said as he deduced what just happened.

"Excellent deduction skills, I'm very impressed. Yes, I do possess such a kekkai genkai that controls both the bone forming and destroying cells as well as the density of calcium in order to manipulate the formation of bones. Normally, the human body has around 200 bones but I increase that number easily and you're right, I did increase the number of bones in order to create a bone armor to protect my organs from harm and thus reducing the damage of attacks." Kimimaro said.

'I wonder…could my Rasengan actually get through his defenses? Probably but I can't waste it, I have to create an opening and then hit him with it to put him down. If I mess up even once, he'll finish me.' Naruto thought.

'That boy's deduction and analytical skills are truly frightening. He was able to figure out that I had a kekkai genkai and what are its abilities just with one exchange. I'll have to be careful and not underestimate him.' Kimimaro thought. He then suddenly pulled a bone from his left shoulder.

"Kage Bushin No Jutsu!" Naruto said and then created an army of clones and dashed toward Kimimaro who did the same.

* * *

"You fool…what can you do with just that little technique of yours?" Tayuya said, and then continued, "As far as I'm concerned, you probably sacrificed each of your team members to get here. Is that Sasuke that important to you guys? Wasting a team just for one guy, you guys are nothing but stupid retards." Tayuya chuckled. 

"Heh…This mission is the first I took as the role of leader so of course I was worried about the safety of my teammates and also the decisions I took. If I were a team leader who took responsibility for the life of his team member, I would have halted the mission in consideration of the lives of my teammates rather than to save one nakama or at least that was what the rule of thumb dictates…" Shikamaru replied.

"Then why didn't you?" Tayuya asked.

"The real world doesn't always follow the rule of thumb. Obviously, there was not a single man in my team who'd stop to halt the mission and desert their captured nakama just to save their own hide, myself included." Shikamaru answered, "I'm a lazy-ass who would rather be at home and watching the clouds than to go on missions like these but if there's one thing I can do for my team, it is to trust them. Besides, I never thought of them as sacrifices and I don't even think they're dead. Anyway, enough about me, let's get this little dance going, shall we?" Shikamaru said as he then did the seal for his Kage Mane No Jutsu.

"You wanna dance huh? Fine, then I'll do this!" Tayuya said and then performed a summoning jutsu and when the smoke cleared, three giants were standing behind her.

'This isn't what I had in mind…'Shikamaru thought with a sweat drop behind his head.

"Now, I'll play a melody of death for you." Tayuya said as she activated her curse seal and started to play.

The monsters then started to move and attack Shikamaru.

* * *

"Yahoo!" Kiba howled, "Let's hit him with our new taijutsu, Akamaru!" Kiba said to his dog as the said dog transformed into Kiba and then the two headed straight for Sakon and then started to run around him at high-speed. 

'Damn! They're going so fast!' Sakon thought.

Suddenly, Akamaru shot toward Sakon in the form of a ball but Sakon was able to jump up to avoid it at the last minute.

"Don't forget about me!" Kiba smirked as he was right behind Sakon and before the said sound ninja could react, Kiba slashed him across the chest, knocking him into a rock.

"Okay Akamaru! Let's get him with formation B!" Kiba yelled as he landed on the ground. Akamaru barked in understanding and then de-transformed and dashed toward Sakon who was getting up and then bit him hard on his right leg.

"Get off me, you stupid mutt!" Sakon growled as he tried to get the dog off him.

"Worry about me instead! Tsuuga!" Kiba yelled as he then performed his technique and struck Sakon in the gut with it, knocking even further back.

"Good job, Akamaru! Our Ni-Inu-Kiba-Ryuu (Double Dog Fang Style) is working to perfection! Now, let's get him with formation Gatsuuga!" Kiba said.

Akamaru then re-transformed into another Kiba and then they once again circled around Sakon at high-speed.

"I see now, you two fight together huh? Well, I can do the same thing as well." Sakon said as he slowly got back up.

"This is it! Gatsuuga!" Kiba yelled as he and Akamaru performed their attack on Sakon and a large explosion was made but when the smoke cleared, both Kiba and Akamaru had their hands caught by Sakon and another Sakon within Sakon.

"What the hell is this?" Kiba asked and then tried to kick Sakon only for a foot to come through Sakon and stop Kiba's.

"So you guys like to play two versus two, huh? Well, so do we right Sakon?" The other twin said.

* * *

"It's quite unexpected for the four to take so long. Did they send strong ones to deal with them or did they play around too much?" Kabuto asked Orochimaru. 

"He, I assume that it was probably Jiroubou who slowed them down as he always gets hungry or Kidoumaru who loves to play around too much." Orochimaru answered.

"But there's also Sakon who has the worst temper and won't stop until he has killed his enemy even if he should just hurry on. He tends to proud himself as being the strongest of the four and always wants to prove that he is better than Kimimaro." Kabuto said.

"But don't forget that Tayuya also has a bad personality but once Kimimaro is there, he'll take care of everything for me." Orochimaru said.

* * *

"Hessedan (Finger Bullets)!" Kimimaro yelled as he fired bone bullets from his fingertips and struck down some of Naruto's clones. The clones kept on attacking using different formations but Kimimaro was able to strike them down using his bones. 

'I thought these clones were just for show but they're proving to be more troublesome with their coordinated attacks. Usually, people that use shadow clones would just try to overpower their opponent with numbers but this kid is actually using them as a way to scout an opponent, decipher their fighting style and coming up with an opening which makes one thing absolutely clear; he's a pure ninjutsu-type shinobi. He prefers to use ninjutsu than taijutsu and thus why he is use these shadow clones in such a way, in order to find an opening and strike me quickly without having to engage me in hand to hand, which means what I must do is clear; I have to force him to engage me in taijutsu and then use my superior speed and strength to overpower him before he can use any of his ninjutsu.' Kimimaro thought

"Musei No Mai (Dance of Silence)!" Kimimaro said and then quickly rushed through all of the clones and made them disappear using his bones, and then headed straight for Naruto, and began rushing him with punches and kicks, putting the boy on the defensive.

'My analysis was correct! He is a pure ninjutsu user so that means in terms of taijutsu, I have the advantage. This match is over!' Kimimaro thought, "Tsubaki No Mai!" Kimimaro said as he then stabbed Naruto multiple times with his bone. Kimimaro smirked only to gasp in shock as Naruto disappears like all the other clones and then to Kimimaro's surprise, Naruto rose up from underground with a Rasengan in his right hand.

'What the? Was he thinking that far ahead or…That's it! He actually predicted that I would figure out his strategy and hence why he left all of his clones while going underground. So which means in reality, he was using those clones as a mere diversion in order for me not to notice that he went underground this whole time!' Kimimaro thought as he Naruto heading straight for him.

"Karamatsu No Mai (Dance of the Pines)" Kimimaro yelled as he unleashed bone spikes all over his body and slashing Naruto all over, knocking him back.

'That was close. If I didn't react in 0.2 seconds, that jutsu might have wounded me. But for a guy of such level, no wonder Tayuya and the other three had problems.' Kimimaro thought as he looked at Naruto.

"Damn it! Why can't I hit anyone with my Rasengan today!? I swear the author of this story hates me sometimes." Naruto yelled as he got back up, 'But what's worse, I blew the only clear chance I had to nail this guy. Who would have thought he could do that with his bones.' Naruto thought.

'Back then, he started off by creating a mass amount of clones in order to hide himself so that he could go underground. Meanwhile, the clones acted as a diversion to keep me on my toes and one of those clones acted like the real one would in order to throw me off even more so that as soon as I struck that one thinking it was the real one, he would then come out from where he was hiding and hit me with that jutsu. This kid is dangerous, if I keep on messing around, he'll beat me for sure.' Kimimaro thought and then took off his shirt and suddenly, the curse mark on his chest activated and large bones erupted from his arms

"Before I kill you, do you mind telling me your name?" Kimimaro asked.

"The name's Namikaze Naruto and there's no way you're killing me!" Naruto said as he entered the Half-Tailed form, "And there's no way Orochimaru is getting his hands on Sasuke!" Naruto roared as he headed toward Kimimaro.

* * *

"Ta-ren-ken (Machine Gun Punch)!" Sakon yelled as he unleashed his attack using his left hand and struck the rock behind Kiba instead as the Inuzuka heir moved to his left to avoid the attack only for his right arm to get caught by an arm that appeared right next to Sakon's own left arm. 

"We happen to be very good brothers, Ukon and I. My older brother usually sleeps inside of me but wakes up to help me in battle." Sakon said.

'So that's his ability.' Kiba thought as he understood what was going on.

"Ukon can extend his arms and legs through any part of my body and can both strike and defend just like this." Sakon explained and then Ukon punched Kiba in the forehead through Sakon, "Ta-ren-kyaku (Machine Gun Kick)!" Sakon yelled as he knocked Kiba back a few feet.

"A kick that is three times as powerful hurts badly huh? Let's see what's next…" Sakon said before getting his mouth clamped by his big brother

"Shut the fuck up, Sakon. Let's activate level 2 and finish these pieces of garbage!" Ukon said as he then transformed into his second state.

"Yare yare, Ukon-aniki. So impatient." Sakon said as he also entered his curse state level 2.

'Damn those guys are tough.' Kiba thought as he got back up and wipe the blood off his mouth, "Okay Akamaru. We're gonna use that technique, okay?" Kiba said to his dog who then barked back in response.

"Don't worry about it. Besides, we Inuzukas never run away from any danger so let's go and show them how strong we really, Akamaru!" Kiba said, reassuring his dog who then nodded his head in agreement.

"You're dead!" Both brothers yelled as they dashed toward Kiba and then punched him in the stomach. But to their surprise, Kiba grabbed onto their fist.

'Now Akamaru! Dynamic Marking!' Kiba thought as his dog then spun around in the air and shot urine at the two brothers.

"Is that dog really pissing on us?" Sakon growled.

"It's all set now!" Kiba said as he jumped up to meet his dog who then jumped on top of his head, 'Inuzuka Ryuu Chinjuu Combo Henge (Inuzuka Style Beast Combination Transformation)!' Kiba thought as he performed the seal and then two of them transformed into a huge white-furred two-headed wolf monster, "So-tou-rou (Two-headed wolf)!" Kiba said.

"Would you look at that? They turned into a huge drooling mutt." Sakon said.

"Take this! Garouga (Double Wolf Fang)!" Kiba yelled as they turned into a huge piercing fang that headed toward the two brothers. The two brothers tried to avoid but were unable to and were cut in two by the attack

"Ha, it's impossible to avoid it. Garouga's rotational speed is so fast that it makes it useless to track you by our vision and thus we use our nose to track you down and even if the enemy isn't struck by it, it still cuts them." Kiba explained.

Suddenly, the two brothers regenerated as black plated arms and legs replaced their lost ones and thus making them two individuals.

"What the? Impossible!" Kiba exclaimed in disbelief.

"You got all cocky, you little shit." Ukon said.

"To be honest, we were thinking about separating anyway." Sakon added as they both got up.

"If we had taken a direct hit, it would have been very bad but now, the real fight starts here." Ukon said.

"I know Akamaru. One more shot of Garouga left and then we're finished. We have to end it here!" Kiba told his dog as the dog has warned him.

"GAROUGA!" Kiba yelled as they performed their attack once again and the two brothers grinned, bit their fingers and put their hand on the ground, activating a summoning.

"Kuchiyose: Rashomon (Summoning: Rashomon)!" Both brothers yelled as then a huge metal door with the face of a demon appeared. Kiba and Akamaru smacked right into it and made a large dent but were unable to bring it down.

'That's an impressive attack power. That is the ultimate defense made to protect Orochimaru and they were able to make such a huge dent on it.' Ukon thought.

'But…" Sakon thought and then both brothers jumped up as the gate disappeared.

"It's over!" Both brothers said and were about to hit the falling two-headed wolf when suddenly, Akamaru shot urine at Sakon's eyes, blinding him, before returning to their original form. He was then smacked away by Ukon's left hook.

'Akamaru! You…you were covering me?' Kiba thought as he landed on the ground.

"Damn it! You did it again! It's like a strong acid burning my eyeballs!" Sakon yelled in pain.

'Where's the other one?' Kiba asked as he looked around for Ukon.

"Looking for me?" Ukon asked as he was in Kiba's right arm, surprising the young boy, "Sakon, go into the river and clean yourself out. I got this." Ukon told his little brother, and then caught Kiba's punch, "This is my ability…specialized for assassination. Having a good nose and set of claws is not enough to defeat me, especially against my ability. You do know that the passage that Chakra runs through is heavily concentrated on the organs, right? These passages are interconnected and surround the tissues that create the organs, the cells that make up the tissues, and even protein, which is the main ingredient of the cells. During my stage two, I am able to freely disassemble and reconstruct these cells with my chakra. Simply put, I can smash my body into pieces and then get inside an enemy's body and then I can reconstruct everything to the way it was and get out." Ukon said, explaining his ability.

"So basically, that means we're sharing the same body now, right?" Kiba asked.

"Right but rest assured, we're not exactly the same body. My cells can move freely among your body and create portions owned just by yourself. This is how I get creative in the way I kill. I can essentially tear off little bits of pieces of your body that's not merged with mine." Ukon said.

"Oh yeah?" Kiba smirked and then took out his kunai and stabbed himself in the gut, "I wonder what will happen if I do this?" Kiba grinned as he started to twist the kunai inside of him.

"S…Suicide?! That can't be!" Ukon exclaimed in disbelief and then grunted in pain as Kiba twisted the kunai, "What the hell are you thinking?" Ukon yelled.

"So we do share the same body, huh? Well then, let's finish this!" Kiba said as he was about to stab himself again only for Ukon to leave his body and thus Kiba stabbing himself.

'Damn it, I'm running out of blood.' Ukon said and then he had to move his left hand to block a kunai thrown at him and then two smoke bombs landed near him and exploded, blinding him. Ukon then moved through the smoke and started to look around for Kiba and Akamaru and then saw Akamaru lying on the ground unconscious, "Hah, he fled leaving the mutt behind, a wise decision. He's even more heartless than myself." Ukon said as he walked up to Akamaru.

Suddenly, Akamaru began to grow more and more until he exploded into a volley of kunais that headed for Ukon.

'Thank God, he's still breathing.' Kiba thought as the two were hiding behind a rock, 'you fought well Akamaru…we were able to delay them for quite a bit because of you. We even managed to wound them. It's alright now because I'll protect you.' Kiba thought, 'But first, we have to get out of here.' Kiba thought as he slowly got back up and headed for the stream.

"That fucking bastard, laying some stupid traps! HE'S FUCKING DEAD!" Ukon roared as he felt the pain from his wounds.

"Hey Sakon! Damn it, where are you!?" Ukon yelled.

"Stop howling like a fool, brother. Your yelling is making eyes ache…" Sakon said but then stopped as he saw his brother back in his level 1 form.

"I'd like to tear them up right now but it's time for me to sleep. Capture those rat bastards for me!! I'll kill them as soon as I'm awake so capture them alive, you got that Sakon?" Ukon asked as he entered his brother's body.

"Yeah, I got it but…we are going to kill them!" Sakon replied. He began to walk and then saw a piece of Kiba's coat behind a rock and struck at it, only to see nothing but the coat.

'I see, so he used the stream to get away. Not bad.' Sakon thought as he saw traces of blood that followed up to the stream.

* * *

"You've got nowhere to run, sewer rat" Tayuya said. 

"You're not bad…A well timed diversion attack using all three of them. It must have taken a lot of practice, huh?" Shikamaru asked, 'On top of that, it doesn't leave many openings for me to take advantage.' Shikamaru thought.

"It looks like a pretty complicated note." Shikamaru added when Tayuya did not respond.

"Not bad, you little shit. You actually were able to figure out that I was controlling them using my flute and you've also figured out the complexity of the melody. However, you won't understand the melody." Tayuya said.

"Of course not considering that I'm not big into art." Shikamaru grinned, 'I'm pretty confident with my analytical skills but this time, it's pretty bad considering what type of weapon and style she uses.' Shikamaru thought.

"There's hasn't been anyone who has listened to this melody and lived to talk about it! The Ninth Verse, the turmoil of Pandemonium!" Tayuya said as she began to play the melody.

'The melody changed!?' Shikamaru thought

The three monsters then opened their mouth and a strange grey-colored substance with mouths on it came out of their mouths and headed straight for Shikamaru. Shikamaru tried to dodge them but then one of them absorbed chakra from his left arm using its mouth. Shikamaru then landed on a tree branch and tossed shurikens at them only for the shuriken to pass through. They then headed for Shikamaru once more only to find an exploding tag on the spot he left and then the tag exploded.

'He realized the danger of the materialized ghosts and took his distance rather quickly. Not bad…but' Tayuya thought.

'Damn…the best I could do with the precious explosive tags and smoke bombs was to hide myself.' Shikamaru thought as he was breathing hard.

'Damn, I have to find a way to stop her but how? Stopping the sound of that flute would be the quickest way but it's immensely difficult to get to her. Another option is for me to capture all three monsters at once but they if keep attacking randomly, then this will become even more difficult. If I fail to catch even one, I'll get attacked all at once and that'll be the end of it. Che, this is like playing shogi without a knight or a rook.' Shikamaru thought as he started to come up with a plan.

'Hiding is futile. Without knowing the movement of these guys, the rat's got nowhere to hide. I'll find him and kill him in no time.' Tayuya thought.

'Alright, here we go! I've got nine attacks and this game will be decided in the time "between".' Shikamaru thought.

A kunai with an exploding tag was thrown where Tayuya was located and forced her to jump into another tree branch as the tag exploded.

'Too easy! These strikes coordinated with melodies are undefeatable…No matter what are used, it's unbreakable!' Tayuya thought as she continued to play her melody, making the monsters move but was unable to find him, 'Shit! Where is that sissy?' Tayuya thought as she was getting angry.

Suddenly, kunais were launched at the monsters who blocked each with their arms.

'What the hell is he trying to do with all of those kunais?' Tayuya thought.

"One fundamental part of shogi is this; to reduce the opponent's strength by capturing its strongest pieces! Ninpou: Kage Aminono No Jutsu (Ninja Art: Shadow Web Technique)!" Shikamaru said and then suddenly, the kunais on the trees turned into shadows that then captured the kunais on the monsters, which also turned into shadows.

"Impossible! How did you figure out the movement of all three!? There is no way you could have possibly figured out the pattern of my melody!!!" Tayuya asked.

"I didn't even try to listen to the melody in the first place. I read your command from your fingers." Shikamaru said.

"That's impossible!" Tayuya said.

"Of course it is, hence why I threw out those attacks. I observed every single movement of your fingers and memorized them." Shikamaru said.

"So what? Just because you have them captured doesn't mean you can do anything with them! Besides, they're strong enough to break out of whatever jutsu you're using easily!" Tayuya said as she then tried to make them move using her flute but it proved to be impossible.

"It's no use. You would be correct if I was just holding them down using the Kageten (Shadow Spot) but in actuality, I'm not. Look at my shadow." Shikamaru said.

Tayuya did as told and then her eyes widened as she saw his shadow stretch all the way to the spots of shadows that were on the trees.

"So you saw it too, right? Basically, the kunais I threw on these trees and on your monsters were actually Shadows Spots and basically act as a way for us to capture shadows from a longer distance. The shadows spots on those monsters of yours were basically there to create a shadow on them since your monsters didn't have any shadow. Then, the shadow spots on the trees then captured the shadow spots on the monsters, thus binding them. Then, I simply have to stretch my shadow into the shadow spots on the trees and bind them, thus effectively creating a much stronger bind than before. The Shadow Spots basically act as a connector over long distances for our Kage Mane No Jutsu since the maximum distance the Kage Mane can travel is 32 cm. All we have to do is stretch our shadows and then the Shadow Spot will connect the two shadows, allowing us to bind the enemy from a long distance hence why it is important to always use both techniques in conjunction and hence how this technique, the Kage Aminono No Jutsu was born. It creates an unbreakable binding shadow web." Shikamaru explained before jumping and heading for her with her monsters.

"Oh no you don't! Kai (Release)!" Tayuya said as she did a seal, releasing the three monsters which made them turn into smoke.

"What are you going to do now? Your flute is useless now; you should at least ready a kunai." Shikamaru said.

"This flute is the only weapon I need and besides, I still have level 2." Tayuya said as she then activated her level 2, darkening her skin and giving her horns.

"What the?" Shikamaru asked as he saw her new form.

"Eat this! Demonic Flute: Illusion Harmony!" Tayuya said as she played her flute.

Suddenly, Shikamaru found himself in a reddish world with skulls and he bound by threads. Then, his right arm started to melt, causing him to scream.

"Ha, got you." Tayuya said as she picked up the kunai and went up to him, "Now die!" Tayuya said as she was about to stab him with the kunai when…

"From up close, you look kind of cute." Shikamaru said as he opened his eyes and grinned at her and before she could respond, he punched her in the stomach, 'Kage Jubi Shibari No Jutsu (Shadow Neck Strangulation Technique)' Shikamaru thought a pair of shadow hands started to wrap around Tayuya.

'H…how did he?' Tayuya thought and then saw his finger broken by his shadow, 'He broke his own finger to get release the genjutsu? What a guy.' Tayuya thought.

"C'mon now, you know the rules of shogi. The main objective of the game is to capture the king. I already had broken my finger way as soon as you unleashed your genjutsu. I simply then screamed in order to make your believe I was caught in the genjutsu. But also, that kunai was key. Remember what you said earlier." Shikamaru said.

_Flashback:_

"_This flute is the only weapon I need." Tayuya said._

_End Flashback_

"So…that kunai…you had it planned along." Tayuya said as she realized what happened.

"Precisely. That was your biggest mistake, and if I pretended to miss you with the kunai, then you would have picked it up and tried to kill me with it since it was the only way you could kill me." Shikamaru said with a grin.

"Not only are you smart but you also have some cahones." Tayuya said.

"Not only that but I am also a gentle man." Shikamaru said as he then took his punch off her stomach. He then tried to punch her again but this time she caught it with her left hand.

"You think so strong now because you broke my genjutsu…you little dickhead." Tayuya said.

'Damn, I can't hold her for long. Man, she's strong but I got no choice, I have to find a way to finish her off.' Shikamaru thought as he and Tayuya were then tangled in battle of strength.

* * *

"What's wrong? What happened to all your strategies from earlier?" Kimimaro asked as he dodged Naruto's punches and kicks. 

"SHUT UP!" Naruto roared back.

"You're a ninjutsu-type shinobi, not taijutsu-type and on top of that, your emotions are making it easy to read your every move no matter how hard you try to mask them." Kimimaro said.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Naruto roared only to get kicked in the stomach, making him cough out blood, and knocking him back a few feet.

"Hmm, it's about time. Now, Orochimaru-sama's dream container will awaken and fulfill his purpose." Kimimaro said and then suddenly, the barrel exploded and when the smoke cleared, Sasuke was standing there. He then started to laugh and then started to head off.

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU GOING, SASUKE!?" Naruto asked angrily and then was about to head off when Kimimaro suddenly appeared in front of and knocked him back with a roundhouse kick.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Naruto yelled.

"I can not allow you to interfere with Orochimaru-sama's dreams." Kimimaro said.

"That damn Orochimaru…he's only been a constant source of annoyance for us! Why can't he just leave us alone and mind his own damn business!" Naruto growled but before he knew it, he was stabbed in the stomach by Kimimaro's bone sword.

"**You will not speak ill of Orochimaru-sama.**" Kimimaro said with a very angry tone and then grabbed Naruto by the neck with his right arm and lifted him up. "I will kill you right here and now." Kimimaro said and then started to form a large bone out of his left hand.

* * *

'Damn, I don't think I can hold her off anymore.' Shikamaru thought as he felt his strength zap away. 

"Just as little more, you piece of shit." Tayuya said.

"Come on, think of a strategy!' Shikamaru thought.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kiba was resting up against a tree as he tried to recover from his wounds. 

'I can smell them getting closer.' Kiba thought as he tried to smell the brothers who were pursuing him, "That was a close one." Kiba said as he relaxed a bit.

"Really?" Ukon said as he was wearing Kiba's jacket.

'My jacket!' Kiba thought as he realized what Ukon was wearing.

"I see. It seems like you wouldn't notice a scent you always smell." Ukon said.

"You camouflaged you own smell with my jacket huh…seems like you know the characteristics of smells pretty well." Kiba said, and then grinned as he saw Ukon take out a kunai, "I can't evade both of you at once, damn it." Kiba said.

"You can't even holler out any last words? Huh? Stop laughing when you're about to die!" Ukon said as he stabbed Kiba.

* * *

'Damn it, I can't think of any good plan! This seems to be the end of it…' Shikamaru thought as his technique wore off. 

"Die!" Tayuya yelled as she was about to stab Shikamaru with the kunai but then was blasted away by a whirlwind.

"Miss me, lazy-ass?" A person said as they landed near Shikamaru.

'You…" Shikamaru gasped.

* * *

"What?" Ukon asked as he realized he stabbed a puppet instead of Kiba. 

'It seems like we're allies this time.' Kiba thought.

* * *

"Perish!" Kimimaro said as he was about to finish off Naruto when suddenly, he was blasted away by sand. Naruto then fell onto a bed of sand. 

"Sand?" Naruto asked and then turned around and his eyes widened, "No way!" Naruto gasped.

"Allies of the Leafs." Temari said.

"We are…" Kankuro said.

"The shinobi of…" Rose said.

"The Sand." Gaara said, finishing it off and turned to Naruto, "It's been awhile hasn't it, Namikaze Naruto." Gaara said with a smirk.

"G…Gaara!" Naruto said.

The arrival of the Pinch-hitters! The Siblings and Rose have arrived to help our young heroes!

* * *

Hey guys, it's me Rose for the preview of the next chapter! It seems like the leafs were in a pinch but not anymore thanks to us and the Sand Siblings are about to take care of business now, especially Gaara-kun who goes up against the strongest of Orochimaru's men, Kaguya Kimimaro in an explosive battle so you guys don't want miss this exciting chapter of Namikaze Hokage! 

Rose: So how did I do, Gaara-kun?

Naruto: Gaara-kun?

Gaara: She's my girlfriend.

Naruto: Oh well, that explains it….NANI?

AN: As always, read and review


	30. Author Note 2

Author's Note #2

Guys, I just rewrote chapter 1 so go check it out and I will be doing it for the others I feel needs editing before I bring out the next chapter.


	31. Good vs Evil

Author's Note: Naruto nor the characters belong to me, they all belong to Kishimoto Masashi. All I am doing is using them in a fictional story.

_**Dragon and Sword Master**_: I totally got what you were saying. I was basically doing too many cut and paste from the manga and anime instead of trying to be more original. Thanks man, if that's what you meant to say.

"Miss me, Shika-kun?" A person said as they landed near Shikamaru.

'You…" Shikamaru gasped.

"What?" Ukon asked as he realized he stabbed a puppet instead of Kiba.

'It seems like we're allies this time.' Kiba thought.

"Perish!" Kimimaro said as he was about to finish off Naruto when suddenly, he was blasted away by sand. Naruto then fell onto a bed of sand.

"Sand?" Naruto asked and then turned around and his eyes widened, "No way!" Naruto gasped.

"Allies of the Leafs." Temari said.

"We are…" Kankuro said.

"The shinobi of…" Rose said.

"The Sand." Gaara said, finishing it off and turned to Naruto, "It's been awhile hasn't it, Namikaze Naruto." Gaara said with a smirk

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 29: Good vs Evil

* * *

"G…Gaara." Naruto said as he was shocked to see the sand Jinchuuriki here along with Rose, "What are you doing here?" Naruto asked.

"I was send by your Godaime to help you out in your mission to retrieve your nakama." Gaara said.

"Yep so don't worry about a thing. We're here to help!" Rose said enthusiastically.

"I see. By the way Gaara, who is that?" Naruto asked as he pointed to Rose.

"This is Rose, my girlfriend. Rose, this is my friend, Naruto." Gaara said as he introduced Naruto to Rose and Rose to Naruto.

"Nice to meet you in person, Naruto-san. Gaara has told me so much about you." Rose said with a smile.

"Nice to meet you too, Rose. Wait a minute, did you just say she was your girlfriend?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, she is. Is there something wrong?" Gaara asked.

"Nothing, it's just that you moved so fast. Anyway, I don't have much time to chat, I gotta get Sasuke so I'm leaving this to you, got it?" Naruto said.

"Before you leave, tell me about his abilities?" Gaara asked.

"Simply put, he has an extremely strong skeletal structure thanks to his kekkai genkai and can also use his bones for means of offensive and defensive capabilities." Naruto explained.

"I see. You can leave, I'll take care of it." Gaara said.

"Who said you could leave?" Kimimaro said as he saw Naruto move and he was about to attack when…

"Suna Yaiba (Sand Blade)!" Gaara said and then unleashed a wave of sand that cut through the ground and forced Kimimaro dodge it and thus allowing Naruto time to leave.

"It seems I'll have to kill the two of you instead." Kimimaro said, 'This guy uses sand and that girl probably has abilities of her own as well.' Kimimaro thought as he looked at his two opponents.

"If you don't mind, I want to finish this quickly." Gaara said and entered his half-tailed state, and then went through a series of seals and has he did, sand began to rise up into a huge wave, "Ryusa Bakuryu (Desert Avalanche)!" Gaara said and then the huge wave of sand headed toward Kimimaro and he tried to avoid it but could not and was grabbed by the sand and engulfed by it. The sand was so immense that it flooded nearly the entire landscape.

"Sabaku Taiso (Desert Requiem)." Gaara said and then stomped his foot on the sand and it unleashed a massive wave of pressure throughout the sand.

"Did you get him, Gaara-kun?" Rose asked.

"No, he's extremely persistent. It looks like you'll have to come in and help me out." Gaara said to his girlfriend with a grin.

"Okay!" Rose said with a thumbs-up

_Flashback:_

"_You can become his spear and shield. With you near indestructible body and powerful kekkai genkai, you can be his spear and shield and no one else can and you might be able to do it for all eternity. Now that is a greater way to serve his purpose, right Kimimaro?" Kabuto asked with a smile._

_End Flashback_

'Yes…I still have my purpose for Orochimaru-sama's dream.' Kimimaro said as he then further activated his curse seal and slowly got out of the sand.

"If I hadn't created these masks under my skin, I would have been dead. But, I won't get caught by your sand again." Kimimaro said.

"I wouldn't speak so fast if I were you." Gaara said.

"And why not? While your sand does have impressive pressure, it's slow and I can dodge it easily." Kimimaro replied with a smirk.

"Let me tell you two things; First, I control everything that is sand and second of all, did you forget that I came with a girl?" Gaara asked.

'A girl? Wait a minute, where is she?' Kimimaro thought as he did not see Rose anywhere.

Suddenly, he was punched by the sand and sent flying about 5 meters

'W…what was that?' Kimimaro thought, only to get punch again and again by the sand from all directions, 'His sand got faster, but how?' Kimimaro thought.

"You still haven't figured it out, huh? Well then, look at my hands." Gaara said.

Kimimaro did so and saw that Gaara was not moving his hands at all.

'Wait a minute, wasn't he moving his hand to control the sand like before? Masaka (No way), don't tell me that it's the girl…!' Kimimaro thought as he figured it out, "It's that girl's special ability, isn't it?" Kimimaro asked.

"So you've finally figured it out, huh? Yes, it's that girl's special ninjutsu called Yoroi Ninjutsu (Armor Ninja Technique)." Gaara said.

"Yoroi Ninjutsu?" Kimimaro asked.

"It allows her to create an armor of the five elements and their sub-types and gain their attributes like the sand for example." Gaara explained.

"Che, what a troublesome ninjutsu. However, it is not one I cannot overcome!" Kimimaro said, 'That girl is fast but I'm still faster. All I have to do is get to Gaara before she can hit me!' Kimimaro thought and then began to run towards Gaara.

"It's useless. Rose doesn't use her eyes to find you, she simply sense the sound you make on the sand, the vibrations your feet unleash every time they step on the sand." Gaara said.

"Not bad but however, I'm still faster than her and even if she can catch up to me, I can still avoid her attacks." Kimimaro said as he was avoiding her attacks and at the same time shooting finger bullets at Gaara, whose sand blocked it.

'He has excellent body control in order to dodge Rose's attacks and keep on the offensive at the same time However…' Gaara thought, "It seems you've forgotten one thing." Gaara said.

"And what is that?" Kimimaro asked

"I said before that I control the sand and everything in the sand which means, I can control Rose as well!" Gaara said and before Kimimaro could respond, he was grabbed by a giant version of Rose who then slammed him into the sand.

"Let's do it Rose! Sabaku Zansatsu (Desert Massacre)!" Gaara and Rose yelled as Rose then started to beat up on Kimimaro with a volley of punches, caving him deeper into the sand.

"This is the end! Sabaku Assaiki (Desert Crusher)!" Gaara and Rose yelled as Rose then grabbed Kimimaro by her right hand, then plunged him deep into the sand and then crushed him.

"This should be the end." Gaara said.

"Don't talk so fast, gaki." Kimimaro said from underneath the sand.

"No way! He should be crushed!" Rose yelled.

Kimimaro then freed himself from her hand as he resurfaced in his level 2 form.

'Naruto was not kidding about his body. He truly possess a powerful skeletal structure.' Gaara thought.

"For the sake of Orochimaru-sama, I cannot lose!" Kimimaro said and then was right in front of Gaara before either one of them could register.

'He's gotten even faster than before! I didn't even have time to register his vibrations.' Rose thought.

Kimimaro then smacked Gaara away with his tail. However, Gaara had no scratches on thanks to his sand armor.

"I see, you were wearing sand from the beginning." Kimimaro said and then tried to move only to find his foot planted down by sand, "What is this?" Kimimaro asked.

"I simply compressed the minerals on the ground and used my sand to travel underneath in order to trap you there. Suna Shigure (Sand Rain)." Gaara said as he created a rain of sand that engulfed Kimimaro

"Kyoudai Sabaku Kyuu (Extreme Desert Coffin)!" Gaara said and then clapped both hands to crush Kimimaro.

"Tessenka No Mai (Dance of the Clematis)." Kimimaro said as he was able to get out of the desert coffin and then pulled out his spinal cord.

'He…he ripped out his spinal cord?' Rose thought in awe.

Kimimaro then wrapped his spinal cord around Gaara who protected himself with his tail wrapped around him. Kimimaro smirked and then began to grow a large bone on his left hand.

"This is the thickest bone in my body, and it will easily pierce through you and that pathetic armor of sand." Kimimaro said.

"Saikou Zettan Bougyo, Shukaku No Tate (Supreme Absolute defense, shield of Shukaku)!" Gaara said and then a miniature statue of shukaku formed from the sand and stood in front of him.

* * *

"We were lucky to find some information on Kimimaro's clan or else he would have been dead by the illness." Kabuto said.

"Ah yes, the Kaguya Clan. A foolish clan that tried to overpower a military power like the Mist and ended up being killed. But then again, it was the only for them to found their inner peace." Orochimaru said.

"And ironically, you happened to save the youngest and most talented of their clan." Kabuto added.

"Of course I did. It would be a waste to let him die considering his impressive kekkai genkai. Blessed with an impenetrable skeletonal frame which can resist any type of physical attack. If they were eve to go on the offensive, their bones could instantly turn into the sharpest point of a spear." Orochimaru said.

* * *

'So this must be Gaara-kun's strongest defensive technique…but will it be enough?' Rose thought.

Kimimaro then shot his bone forward and started to pierce into the shield but the bone eventually broke into pieces.

"That sand defense of yours, it's quite solid." Kimimaro said.

"I collected the strongest minerals from underground and then pressurized them into dense sand around me using my chakra. Now, before I finish you off for good tell me, why do you follow someone like Orochimaru?" Gaara asked.

"I follow Orochimaru-sama for one reason only. Because he has give me a reason to exist. My clan was a clan that only lived to fight and die in the battlefield, we had no real purpose in this world and me, they even shunned me away and only used me as a tool of combat. But Orochimaru-sama, he gave me a purpose!" Kimimaro said.

"And what is that purpose?" Gaara asked.

"To become his spear and shield. He made me realize that I was not just a worthless tool but a person of value, that is what Orochimaru-sama made me realize and for his sake, I shall destroy any obstacle that stands in his way."

"He gave you purpose, huh? You're a fool if you can't realize that he's using you. No one can create a purpose for a person, only that said person can create a purpose for themselves and their existence." Gaara said and suddenly, Kimimaro found himself being sunk into the sand.

"You will sink 200 meters below ground. Maybe there, you will see what I am talking about, if you haven't died by then." Gaara said, and Kimimaro struggled to move but was unable and sunk away.

"Is it over?" Rose asked as he returned to her normal form and landed beside Gaara.

"I don't know." Gaara said.

"Mai…Sawarabi No Mai (Dance of the Ferns)!" Kimimaro yelled and then hundreds of bone spikes erupted from the ground, covering the entire landscape.

Luckily, Gaara and Rose were able to escape as Gaara created a sand rock to help them float above the ground.

"Lucky for us, you were able to create those in time, Gaara-kun." Rose said as she was behind Gaara/

"Yeah." Gaara said.

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW, HUH? YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT OROCHIMARU-SAMA!" Kimimaro yelled as he appeared in one of the bones with his flower bone activated and he then stabs Gaara.

"I know a lot more than you think, and you're the fool." Gaara said. Kimimaro looked up and saw Gaara standing on a floating rock with Rose 10 meters above Kimimaro.

"What's going on?" Kimimaro asked.

"What you just struck was a bushin but not any type of bushin, an exploding one. I guess you won't have time to reflect on your foolishness after all." Gaara said.

"OROCHIMARU-SAMA!" Kimimaro yelled as the bushin exploded, blowing him up as well. The only remains of Kimimaro were blood and his head on the floor.

* * *

"That was close, Gaara-kun." Rose said as they sitting near a tree, exhausted.

"If I didn't think ahead and created my Suna Bakeretsu trap, we would have been dead." Gaara said as he was breathing heavily, "By the way Rose, thanks for your help. I couldn't have done this without you." Gaara said, congratulating the girl with a smile, causing her to blush.

"No problem. By the way Gaara…" Rose began to say

"What is it?" Gaara asked.

"I wonder that if this was another timeline or different version of this world, would you and Naruto been born as brothers?" Rose asked.

"Why do you say that for, Rose?" Gaara asked.

"It's just that you guys have much in common like being jinchuriki and the way you guys interacted just now, it looked you guys could have been brothers in different circumstances. I hope you don't find what I'm saying stupid, Gaara-kun." Rose quickly as she found herself embarrassed.

"It's not stupid at all, Rose, and I do agree with you that after my defeat at his hands, I have come to look at Naruto as an older brother of some sorts. However, he also has a brother as well." Gaara said.

"And who is that?" Rose asked.

"Uchiha Sasuke and it is that person that Naruto must save from the darkness before it's too late." Gaara said cryptically.

* * *

"No way, did Kimimaro lose?" Kabuto asked as he saw the wax fall off the candle.

"I don't care about Kimimaro anymore, all I want is Sasuke-kun." Orochimaru said.

"SASUKE!" Naruto yelled as he saw his friend on top of one of the statues.

"Look who it is. Naruto, I'm so glad to see you." Sasuke said with a grin.

"What do you think you're doing, Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm leaving you guys to go to Orochimaru for power." Sasuke replied.

"Are you serious? Why do you want to go to that snake bastard for power? Don't you even realize he just wants your body?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah and?" Sasuke asked.

"Don't you even care about anyone else, especially Hinata? Everyone wants you back, especially her!" Naruto said.

"Hinata? Oh, you mean that girl that my other self liked, right?" Sasuke asked.

"Other self? Don't tell me you also have a split personality? Come on, what is this, a manga or something? Does everyone and their grandmother have split personalities?" Naruto asked, rolling his eyes.

"Not exactly. You see, I'm the essence of Sasuke's darkness, the avenger he buried away and replaced with foolish feelings of friendship and bonds. Thanks to Orochimaru's new curse seal, I was able to create a body for myself and replace the Sasuke you know in his mind while I take over." Sasuke explained.

"Wait, avenger?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. Before he met that fool named Kyo, all that was on Sasuke's mind was revenge for what his brother did to his clan." Sasuke answered.

"Wait, are you talking about the Uchiha Clan Massacre?" Naruto asked.

"I see you heard about it as well. Yes, our older brother killed everyone except for us and told us to live our life by hatred. But then Kyo came in and convinced Sasuke to give up on his revenge and then you pieces of shits befriended him and made him forget more and more about his revenge until he stopped thinking about it altogether and thus burying me away! But now, nothing is going to bury me! NOTHING!" Sasuke roared.

"So all I got to do is beat the shit out of you until Sasuke can reclaim his mind, huh?" Naruto asked with a smirk.

"Pretty much. Before we get started though, let me have a talk with him." Yami Sasuke said.

* * *

_Sasuke's mind_

_Yami Sasuke reappears in the dojo where Sasuke was seen on the ground, struggling to get free from the chains binding him._

"_I see you haven't given up yet. How foolish." Yami Sasuke said._

"_Just you wait! I'm soon as I'm outta here, I'll rip you to pieces!" Sasuke growled._

"_How interesting. Anyway, I want to show you something." Yami Sasuke said as he then created a mirror that floated near him. In that mirror, there was an image of the outside world and Sasuke could see Naruto._

"_He is your best friend after all, right Sasuke? Which means if I kill him then we'll be able to get the Mangekyou Sharingan." Yami Sasuke said with a dark smile on his face._

"_No! I won't let you do this!" Sasuke yelled._

"_And also, if I learn how to activate that Dragon Seal Kyo had put on you, then along with the Snake's power and the Mangekyou Sharingan, I will be able to kill Itachi and become stronger than ever before!" Yami Sasuke said. _

'_Damn, I forgot about the Dragon Seal!!' Sasuke thought._

"_But it looks you haven't learn how to activate either which is good for me. So now Sasuke, stand back and watch the show as I'm about to do what should have been done a long time ago!" Yami Sasuke said and then vanished._

"_NO! COME BACK HERE!" Sasuke yelled, 'Damn it, what's the point of being given a power if I can't activate it. Kyo told me that it would activate when I need it the most so why hasn't activated itself yet?' Sasuke thought._

_Outside Sasuke's mind_

* * *

"Well then Naruto, shall we get started?" Yami Sasuke said. Naruto nodded and Sasuke then both teleported onto the water, using their chakra to stand on water.

"You know Naruto, I've always wondered which one of us is the strongest. I think today is a good day to find out but before we do, I want to say something dear to me." Yami Sasuke said.

"And what's that?" Naruto asked.

"You've become my best friend!" Sasuke said and then quickly went through a series of seals to activate the Chidori.

"Yeah right, you're not even the real Sasuke anyway!" Naruto yelled as he then performed a Kage Bushin and quickly formed his Rasengan.

"And this is why I must kill you! Chidori!" Yami Sasuke yelled as he dashed toward Naruto with his attack.

"RASENGAN!" Naruto yelled as he dashed toward Sasuke. Both attacks met and led to a stalemate that produced a shockwave, knocking both boys back.

"It seems like we're equal, Naruto." Yami Sasuke said with a smirk as he then activated his curse seal.

'Should I go all out against him? If I do, I might risk gravely injuring Sasuke's body or even kill him.' Naruto thought.

Sasuke then ran toward Naruto and began engaging him in Taijutsu, throwing punches and kicks and forcing Naruto on the defensive. Naruto tried to punch Sasuke with a right hook but Sasuke ducked and countered with a hard right straight to the gut, knocking Naruto back about by ten meters.

"It's over Naruto! I'll break your neck with my Dragon Cutter!" Sasuke yelled as he jumped up and dived at Naruto, who was lying on the water, with his kick but as soon as the kick connected, Naruto poofed away twice.

'Damn, he must have created a shadow clone and then used it to replace himself with it in order to avoid my Dragon Cutter.' Sasuke thought.

"Fuuton: Shippuken (Wind Release: Hurricane Fist)!" Naruto yelled as he unleashed a small hurricane from his fist while in mid-air.

Sasuke dodged it and then went through a number of hand seals,

"Katon: Gokyakuu No Jutsu (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)!" Sasuke yelled as unleashed his massive fireball at Naruto but then Naruto quickly created a shadow clone while in mid-air and the clone then kicked Naruto out of the way and took the blast for him. Naruto then gracefully landed on the water on both feet.

'He must have predicted that I would be able to dodge it and thus had that technique to avoid my counter-attack. Damn him!' Sasuke thought as he turned to face his adversary.

'While Sasuke is quite good at ninjutsu, he is more proficient at Taijutsu and thus is a close-range fighter at his best which means his max range is about 2 meters. On the other hand, I'm a ninjutsu-type and a mid-range fighter at best which means my range is about 8 meters max. So thus, all I have to do is keep the range distance between me and Sasuke and hit him hard with everything I've got.' Naruto thought.

'Mid-range and long-range combat is not bad but close-range is where I definitely need to be in order to effectively kill him with the Chidori. Wait a minute, I know exactly how to beat him!' Sasuke thought as he then smirked and activated his Sharingan.

"It's been fun Naruto but this time, you're going down for good! Housenka No Jutsu!" Sasuke yelled as he unleashed his volley of fireballs.

Naruto dodged them only to get hit in the face by Sasuke's left punch but then Naruto poofed away. Sasuke grinned and reappeared above the real Naruto who was in mid-air, and then smacked him back to the water with a left kick to the face.

'What in the world? How did he even know that I had substituted with a KB? I didn't even do any seals.' Naruto thought as he got back up. He then went through a series of seals and was about to activate his Tenkazedou technique when Sasuke suddenly appeared and swept him off his feet and followed with a right hook to the face as Naruto was falling, knocking the boy back about 5 meters.

'It's as if he knew what I was going to do right before I did, but why?' Naruto thought as he got back up, 'As soon as he activated his Sharingan, he was able to do all this but why? Wait, is it possible his Sharingan is able to allow him to predict my next move? It would make sense considering that he is a close-range fighter and his max range is 2 meters and thus he is actually using his Sharingan to predict my next moves and by doing so, he is able to make range advantage negligible. What to do? If I get even close to 2 meters, he'll cream me for sure.' Naruto thought as he tried to come up with a solution.

'It's as I predicted, my Sharingan was able to improve my perception to the point where I could project his next move and thus act accordingly and thus making his range useless. With my Sharingan and my curse seal, Naruto's death is inevitable and I'll finally get what I need to kill him…' Sasuke thought.

* * *

_Sasuke's mind_

"_Damn it, damn it! Why can't I get out? And why can't I activate this stupid seal?!" Sasuke yelled out of his lungs at he was watching his best friend losing the fight._

'_It's because you have not shown me your resolve, kid.' A voice said._

"_Who said that?" Sasuke asked._

"_I did." The voice said and then the spirit of a large blue-scaled dragon with gold eyes appeared in front of Sasuke._

"_Che, so you're the kid he sealed me in. I'm not impressed." The dragon said._

"_You're the dragon from that seal, right? Then activate so I can get out of here already!" Sasuke said._

"_WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE ORDERING ME, SEIRYUU?" Seiryuu roared._

"_I don't have time for this! If I don't get out of here then my best friend is going to die and I'll be trapped here forever!" Sasuke said, ignoring the dragon's outburst._

"_And like I said kid, I'm not activating the seal until you show me some resolve, kid." Seiryuu replied._

"_What resolve? Isn't me wanting to save my friend enough resolve for you?!" Sasuke asked._

"_If it was for any other situation then yes but for the magnitude of this situation, not even close." Seiryu replied, confusing Sasuke._

"_What the hell are you talking about?" Sasuke asked._

_Che, you really don't get it Sasuke. Everything that has happen, everything that has led to this, is your fault Sasuke." Seiryuu replied. _

"_W…what did you just say?" Sasuke asked as he could not believe what the dragon had said._

"_I'll say it again boy. Everything is your fault." Seiryu said._

"_WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? HOW IS EVERYTHING MY FAULT?" Sasuke roared, demanding an answer from the dragon._

"_Think about it, Sasuke. Your family died because you were too weak, you fell onto Orochimaru's trap because you were weak, you allowed the darkness hidden deep within your heart to resurface and take over you because you were too weak. Not only that but because of you, several of your nakama were gravely injured in their fight to try and bring you back and now, your best friend is about to die. All because of you and there's no one else to blame other than you, Uchiha Sasuke." Seiryuu said, and as he said that , Yami Sasuke had Naruto by the throat with his right hand and had a chidori in his left hand._

"_No…Naruto…" Sasuke said._

_Then, memories of everything that happened in Konoha, from his days at the academy and meeting his friends, to meeting and falling in love with Hinata, to beating Neji in the finals, to meeting Kyo, all of these memories came rushing back and then broke like glass._

"_You said you wanted a resolve right Seiryuu? Well here's my resolve!" Sasuke yelled as he stood back up despite being bound by the chains, and then walked up to Seiryuu and glared, " I WILL NEVER BE WEAK AGAIN! I WILL NEVER LOSE AGAIN! I WILL PROTECT MY NAKAMA EVEN IF IT KILLS ME! AND NOT YOU AND EVEN KAMI WILL STOP ME!" Sasuke roared._

"_Hmm, now that's a resolve. Alright kid, I'll activate the seal, just make sure to clean up the mess." Seiryuu said and then disappeared._

* * *

"It's been fun Naruto but this is the end! SHI-NE (DIE)!" Yami Sasuke said with a smirk as he was about to deliver the finishing blow when he suddenly felt a huge pain in his head, causing him to clutch and thus let go of Naruto who fell on his feet.

"W…WHAT IS GOING ON? THIS PAIN!?" Yami Sasuke yelled as he was in horrible pain and then fell down to his knees. He then unleashed a monstrous yell as he then fell onto the water, unconscious.

"S…Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

'**The real Sasuke must have broken free, causing a distortion in the mind and thus affecting that guy. Right now, they're probably locked in a battle to the death in his mind." Kyuubi told his container.**

'I see.' Naruto told the beast.

* * *

"_YOU FOOL! I WAS ABOUT TO FINALLY GET THAT POWER!" Yami Sasuke yelled at Sasuke._

"_I don't care, you were not going to kill my best friend." Sasuke said._

"_I can still kill him, all I have to do is get rid of you forever!" Yami Sasuke smirked._

"_I don't think that's possible now, thanks to this anyway." Sasuke smirked back as the tattoo of a black dragon appeared from his legs to his face._

"_Impossible! You activated it!" Yami Sasuke exclaimed in shock._

"_Of course I did baka, how did you think I was able to free myself from those chains." Sasuke said._

"_Don't get so cocky Sasuke! I still have level 2!" Yami Sasuke said as he then activated his second level of his curse seal. His hair got longer and darker, his skin got darker, there was a mark on his nose and he also gain weird-demonic like wings._

"_And now, I'll use this power to destroy you so I can have everything I want! CHIDORI!" Yami Sasuke roared as he then performed a chidori with his left hand, but this chidori was black instead of the usual blue. Yami Sasuke then dashed toward Sasuke and thrust his attack forward but to his shock, Sasuke grabbed Yami's Sasuke's left arm and suddenly, Yami Sasuke found himself unable to get free._

'_What's going on? I can't move! Is that seal that strong?' Yami Sasuke thought as he could not budge._

_Sasuke grinned darkly and then ripped out Yami Sasuke's left arm, causing the latter to yell in agonizing pain._

"_WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Yami Sasuke roared as he was in pain._

"_Now, it's time for me to clean up the mess I created. I'll erase you right here and now! Chidori!" Sasuke said as he then generated his Chidori with one hand, 'It seems my lightning affinity has gotten much stronger with the seal. Not just that but the shape of the Chidori changed as well..' Sasuke noticed as the Chidori came in the form of a lightning dragon_

"_W…Wait Sasuke, don't do this! Don't you understand what will happen if you kill me?!" Yami Sasuke said as he was desperately trying to buy some time._

"_You hurt Hina-chan and then tried to kill my best friend! If you had done anything else, I might have had mercy on you but the fact that you did those is something that I CAN NEVER FORGIVE! NOW GET OUT OF MY HEAD! CHIDORI RYUUHA (Thousand Birds Dragon Wave)!" Sasuke roared as he unleashed his Chidori that turned into a dragon-headed wave of chakra that then headed toward Yami Sasuke who tried to run away but was struck by the blast._

"_You will never get rid of me!" Yami Sasuke said before being obliterated._

"_I already did." Sasuke said.._

"_Nice job, dipshit." Seiryuu said as he reappeared._

"_Thanks for helping me out, Seiryuu." Sasuke said, thanking the dragon._

"_No problem but hear me out. I'm no one's pet, understand? And I also will not tolerate a weak vessel so thus; if you become weak, I will kill you. If you hesitate to kill your enemy in combat, I will kill you. If your friend dies because of your weaknesses, I will kill you. Do I make myself clear, dipshit?" Seiryuu asked with a dark grin, showing off its fangs._

"_Loud and clear, dragonfuck." Sasuke replied with smirk._

"_You got balls kid, better not drop them for a second." Seiryuu said, chuckling before disappearing._

'_Finally, I don't hear those dark voices in my head anymore. I'm finally free.' Sasuke thought as he closed his eyes._

* * *

Back in the outside world, Naruto was getting his wounds healed by Kyuubi when Sasuke suddenly woke up.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked, still not sure which one it was.

"Man, it feels good to be back in my body again. Yo Naruto, hope the other me didn't hurt you too bad." Sasuke said as he got back up.

"Oh no no, he didn't hurt too bad except for the part where he nearly broke my neck and nearly stabbed me in the heart." Naruto replied.

"Okay I get it, my bad. Anyway, you don't have to worry about him anymore, he's gone for good." Sasuke said as he was referring to his dark side.

"That's good. Come on, let's head back to Konoha. Hopefully, we'll be able to meet up with the others." Naruto said.

"Namikaze-san, Uchiha-san, are you two alright?" One of the several medic-nins on the scene asked.

"Yeah, I'm a little bruised up but I should be alright. What about the others?" Naruto asked.

"The first and second medic team that have been dispatched by the Godaime's orders have already retrieved the other injured genins and have been taken for urgent medical treatment. Nara Shikamaru has a minor wound and Inuzuka Kiba has a deep wound but should be fine. However, Akimichi Choji and Hyuuga Neji are in critical condition as we speak. Their lives are hanging by a thread." The medic-nin reported.

"I see." Naruto said somberly. He then looked at Sasuke who had his head down and was clenching his fists.

"I'll make sure this never happens again." Sasuke said.

* * *

"I'm surprised you're that lax considering the status of your nakama." Temari said as she and Shikamaru were sitting across from each other in the waiting room in the hospital. They were awaiting the results of Chouji's operation.

"I'm sure you are and I should be more somber but the reason I am not is because I believe that my nakama will survive and besides, this mission did have a high death rate for us and if he did die, at least I know he went down fighting. " Shikamaru replied.

"I'm impressed that you're able to keep such a composure, lazy-ass." Temari said with a smirk.

"So son, is this your girlfriend?" Shikaku asked as he walked in on the two.

"DAD!" Shikamaru yelled as he blushed in embarrassment and so did Temari.

"What? Can't a father ask his son a private question?" Shikaku asked, chuckling at his son's behavior.

Before Shikamaru could retort, Tsunade came out of the operating room in which Chouji was being operated, and everyone turned their attention to her.

"I have good news everyone. Chouji is going to make a full recovery." Tsunade said with a smile.

"Tsunade-sama! The operation on Hyuuga Neji is done and it was a success. Also, a medic has returned along with Namikaze Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke and both are in fine conditions." Shizune said.

Upon hearing the news, Shikamaru fell down on his knees with his hands on the ground and tears flowing down his face

"The mission was success…thank god." Shikamaru said, crying.

'I would make fun of you for crying but I'll let it slide this time.' Temari thought.

* * *

"WHERE IS SASUKE?" Orochimaru roared as he threw things around his room.

"I assure you we will try to find him. I'm sent out our best pursuers to locate him my lord." Kabuto said, cowering under his master's rage.

"I NEED HIM NOW!" Orochimaru roared in rage.

"Now now Orochimaru, is that anyway to act as a sannin." A voice said, catching the attention of both Kabuto and Orochimaru.

"Who are you!? Show yourself!" Orochimaru barked.

"Orochimaru, the legendary snake sannin. I have come to give you an offer you can't refuse." The voice as a man stepped out of the shadows.

"W…who is that, Orochimaru-sama? He looks almost like Kyosuke…" Kabuto asked.

"U…Uchiha Madara." Orochimaru whispered with fear in his eyes as it was the man standing in front of him was none other than Uchiha Madara, founder of the Uchiha Clan and older brother of Uchiha Kyosuke.

* * *

In a cave in an unknown location, thirteen ghostly figures were congregating.

"Remember our goals everyone, we must gather them in order to complete his plan." One of them said.

"Heard you the first time already. I don't really care as long as I get to kill people." One of them said with a very cocky attitude.

"I heard Orochimaru tried to get his hands on your little brother, Itachi." The figure that resembled Kisame said.

"Hmm." Itachi simply replied.

"Emotionless as ever, that's Itachi for ya." Another one said.

"Remember our goals and failure is unacceptable." The first one said.

To Be Continued…

Next Chapter: Aftermath

* * *

AN: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I didn't do Kankurou and Temari's fights since they're exactly like in the manga and anime so there was no point in re-writing them. I also hope you guys enjoyed my version of Gaara vs Kimimaro. Next will be some chapters where Sasuke will explain the massacre, Naruto will reveal his big secret and then onto the fillers. Now for the fillers, I will allow you guys to choose which one you want me to do first and here are the choices:

The Kirikagure Gaiden (where Haku becomes Mizukage)

The Five Temples Tournament (Team Gai, especially Gai, are invited by Gai's taijutsu master to a tournament where Gai's old temple is participating but of course, chaos follows suit.)

The Ghost Ninja Island (Kurenai and Asuma decide to spend a romantic time at a mysterious but popular resort but of course, Team 8 and 10 decide to crash the party only to find themselves surrounded by ghost ninjas)

Now, those will have to wait since I am going to do the re-edits first which should not take long but it's important that I do them first since a lot of the things in the combat system in terms of techniques will change and even though they are fillers, I don't want to run into any contradictions but you guys will not have to wait too long so vote and whichever story has the most vote will be the one I get started on.

And by the way, do read the edited chapters to help you understand the story better. It will really help. As always, read and review and until next time.


	32. Author Note 3

Author's Note:

The Zabuza Arc has been re-done and can now be read. Highly vital to read it in order to understand what will happen from now on.


	33. Author Note 4

Author's Note:

Chapter 3 through 5 (Genin Exams and Zabuza Arc) has been re-done and can now be read. Highly vital to read it in order to understand what will happen from now on.


	34. End of a Storm

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 30: End of a Storm

* * *

It was a few weeks later after the rescue Sasuke mission…

"I wonder why Sasuke wanted us to come to the Uchiha District for." Kiba asked.

"Maybe he wants to thanks us for rescuing him." Chouji said with a grin as he was eating a bag of chips.

"I don't think so. He already apologized for everything a few days when were cleared by the hospital." Neji replied.

"Let's just see what Sasuke does then." Naruto said.

"By the way, why are you guys still here?" Shikamaru asked Temari, her siblings and Rose

"Because we want to. Besides, you have to show us around you know since we are allies." Temari replied with a smirk.

They then arrived at the abandoned Uchiha District where Sasuke was standing there.

"So Sasuke, what's up with all of this? Why call us all the way here?" Naruto asked.

"Before I answer this, why is here?" Sasuke asked as he pointed to Gaara.

"We're here too you know." Temari, Rose and Kankurou said in order to get Sasuke's attention.

"Who the hell are you three?" Sasuke asked.

"WE'RE HIS SIBLINGS/GIRLFRIEND!" Temari, Kankurou and Rose yelled at the Uchiha.

"DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH GAARA-KUN, HUH?" Rose yelled at Sasuke.

"Just forget it. Anyway, the reason why I called all of you here is because you guys need to hear something." Sasuke said as he dropped the subject.

"Hear what?" Everyone asked.

"About what led to this, what led to the massacre of my clan." Sasuke replied.

Sasuke then told his tragic story, about how his brother was the one that murdered his entire clan and how he left him psychologically broken.

"Woah, Sasuke. I…" Naruto began to say but was just speechless.

"It looks I am not the one who has suffered as a child." Gaara said.

"TO BELIEVE MY ETERNAL RIVAL HAS SUFFERED THIS MUCH!" Lee yelled with tears in his eyes.

"Since when did I become your eternal rival?" Sasuke asked with a sweat drop behind his head

"You suffered even worse than I ever did. To be betrayed by the one that you admire, no idolized, must be something unimaginable." Neji said.

"Gomen ne, Sasuke-kun. If I knew about this earlier, I would have come to you sooner…" Hinata said saddened.

"It's okay Hina-chan and everyone. It was thanks to you guys that I was able to not become something worse. Your friendship is what kept me in the right path and for that, I thank you." Sasuke said with a soft smile.

"No problem. It's what nakama are for after all." Sakura said with a thumbs-up.

"Well, I might as well get something off my chest as well." Naruto said.

"What is it, Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked.

"Well, it's something you guys are probably going to hate me for but…" Naruto began to say nervously.

"What are you talking about, Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

"He's the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Youko." Gaara said bluntly, shocking everyone.

"GAARA!" Naruto yelled.

"That is what you were going to tell them, correct? Well, I just made it easier for you to tell them." Gaara said.

"But wait a minute, the Kyuubi was said to have been killed by the Yondaime Hokage." Ino exclaimed.

"The Yondaime Hokage actually sealed the Kyuubi into a newborn, into me and what you said was a lie concocted by the Hokage in order to keep this generation from hating me as well. Though now, I don't think it matters anymore since you guys are probably going to hate me now." Naruto said with a weak smile only to get slapped hard by Sakura.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto said as he saw his girlfriend's face full of tears.

"Baka…you're really are a baka you know that? Did you really think…did you really think that I would really hate you because of that, Naruto-kun? I love you and it wouldn't have mattered even if you were a demon, I would still love you." Sakura said.

"Besides, what kind of nakama would we be if we hate you simply because of that? Besides, you're the container of the demon and not the demon so hating you would be pretty stupid and besides, no demon would have tried to save three missing-nins like you did with Zabuza, Haku, and Shinji." Sasuke said.

"And no demon would have ever tried to save someone like me." Gaara said.

"Besides, the Naruto I know is an S-class smart-ass who is also willing to do whatever it takes to help his fellow nakama." Shikamaru said with a grin

"And also eats more ramen than even me." Chouji added.

"Basically, what we're saying is that the Naruto we know could never be a demon and was and is our nakama until the day we die." Kiba said with Akamaru barking in agreement.

"Arigatou, minna (thank you, everyone)" Naruto said with tears flowing down his eyes.

"So it looks like you've finally told them, Naruto." Jiraiya said as he appeared behind Naruto.

"What are you doing here, ero-sennin?" Naruto asked as he wiped his tears.

"Damn it boy! Can't you stop calling me that even in a moment like this?" Jiraiya yelled.

"Like hell I will. Just because I'm having an emotional moment doesn't mean I'll stop being a smart-ass." Naruto said.

"Who is that, Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

"That's Jiraiya, one of the three legendary sannins, my teacher, and also a super-pervert hence why I call him ero-sennin." Naruto said.

'Did he really have to mention the super-pervert part?' Jiraiya thought.

"That's so cool!" Everyone except Sakura said.

"Anyway Naruto, I need you to come with me. I have a present for you." Jiraiya said.

"A present? I hope it's not something perverted." Naruto said, looking at the sannin distrustfully.

"You'll see. Now come on." Jiraiya said and started to walk.

"See you guys later then." Naruto said as he headed off.

Suddenly, an ANBU with the mask of a cat, and then a Hyuuga male branch member both appeared.

"Haruno Sakura, Hokage-sama requests your presence in her office immediately." The ANBU said.

"Nani?" Everyone exclaimed.

"Hyuuga Hinata-sama and Uchiha Sasuke-san, Hyuuga Hiashi-sama requests your presences in his study immediately." The Hyuuga said.

"NANI?" Everyone exclaimed again.

* * *

"WOAH! What the heck is this place?" Naruto exclaimed as he started in front of a mansion and on the doors was the insignia of the Namikaze Clan.

"That's your new house, Naruto." Jiraiya said.

"You're kidding, right?" Naruto asked.

"Of course not, I would never kid around with something like that. Your father left this for you as inheritance for when you get older and more mature and since we all feel that you have reached that point, Tsunade decided to give me the key so I could give it to you." Jiraiya explained before handing the key to Naruto.

"So this is all mine?" Naruto asked as he held the key.

"Yep, all yours." Kakashi said as he appeared on the scene.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said as he saw the masked shinobi, "Yosh, let's do this!" Naruto said as he gained his resolve and then grinned before walking up to the door and then unlocked it with the key.

The trio stepped inside and were floored by the number of rooms available and how many floors there were. You could practically house the entire ninja academy in this mansion. Also on the wall were several pictures of Minato, Kushina, the two of them together and also several individuals that looked almost like Minato and Naruto

'Must be some of my relatives.' Naruto thought as he observed the pictures.

They then entered the kitchen and were amazed by how spacious it was and not only but the floors were made of rich caramel-colored ceramic tiles that probably cost a fortune for just one set. The appliances in the kitchen looked very high-tech and there were three ovens and four refrigerators.

The trio's next stop was the living room which was very spacious. The living room had numerous sofas, an expensive fireplace, a singing stage, and had an entrance that led to the rich backyard. The backyard had a pool and had numerous oriental statues and also a small bridge and a small meditation temple as well.

Finally, the last rooms downstairs were the restroom and also a training room.

Upstairs, there were numerous rooms for people to stay, and also three other bathrooms including one in the main room which now belongs to Naruto. Finally, they stopped in front of two large doors. They stepped in and then their mouth fell to the floor as there were thousands of bookshelves with books all over the place as they realized that they were in the library of scrolls.

"Oh my god." Naruto said as he was amazed at the sheer size of it all.

"Yep, your dad sure loved ninjutsu and sealing jutsus as well. But even I must say that this is a bit over the top." Jiraiya said.

"I never knew sensei had so much scrolls." Kakashi said.

"So I guess I can take my stuff and move in, right?" Naruto asked.

"Hold on Naruto, there's one more thing you must do first." Jiraiya said.

"What is that?" Naruto asked.

* * *

"Hiashi-sama, Hyuuga Hinata and Uchiha Sasuke have arrived." The Hyuuga branch member said as he appeared in Hiashi's study.

"Tell them to enter." Hiashi said and the branch member nodded before opening the door and letting our couple enter the study.

"It's an honor to meet you, Hiashi-sama." Sasuke said as he bowed.

"It's an honor to meet you too, Uchiha-sama. My daughter has told me so much about you. Please sit down." Hiashi said as he instructed the couple who nodded and then sat down.

"Why…did you call us here…tou-san?" Hinata asked.

"I'll get right down to the point; Uchiha Sasuke, I want to give you my daughter's hand in marriage." Hiashi said.

"NANI?" The couple yelled.

"F…father! Are you serious?" Hinata asked, blushing.

"Of course I am, Hinata. Sasuke is strong, the last of his clan known for their kekkai genkai and on top of that, he's the one that helped you become stronger. Sasuke, did you know Hinata trounced her sister during their latest sparring match and even matched up against Neji?" Hiashi asked the Uchiha.

"Really? You really did all that Hina-chan?" Sasuke asked Hinata.

"Y…yes. I…I even started to work on my own specialized Jyuuken, Sasuke-kun." Hinata replied.

"That's awesome, Hina-chan!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"And it is because of that I chose you to become her husband. The council wanted to give her someone else but I convinced them that you were the right fit and the effects you have on her is the proof we need. Also, it would help unite the Uchiha and Hyuuga clan together forming a powerful alliance. Now of course, I don't expect you two to get married right away, this is just a formal meeting in order to finalize everything. Uchiha Sasuke, do you object to any of this?" Hiashi asked.

"Of course not. It would be my honor to marry Hina-chan!" Sasuke said, making her blush.

"And what about you my dear daughter. Do you mind having Uchiha Sasuke as your husband?" Hiashi asked.

"I…I would be more than happy….for Sasuke-kun to be my husband." Hinata said blushing.

"Okay then, since you two consent, I'll simply go and tell the council about this. But before you two leave, I need to tell you something Sasuke." Hiashi said.

"What is it, Hyuuga-sama?" Sasuke asked.

"If you do anything and I mean anything to cause discomfort or misery to my daughter, **I will personally kill you. Understood?**" Hiashi warned Sasuke with his Byakugan activated.

"H…Hai, H…Hyuuga-sama." Sasuke replied, nodding his head in fear.

"Okay then, you two may leave." Hiashi said and the couple nodded and bowed before leaving. Then, the Hyuuga branch member from before re-entered the room.

"Hiashi-sama, do you think it is wise to marry your daughter to a Uchiha?" The man asked as he said the name Uchiha with some distaste in his voice.

"I understand your concern Koji and if it was with any other Uchiha then I would have objected but you see, Sasuke is extremely different from any Uchiha I have ever met. Unlike them, he does not carry an air of utmost arrogance though he is confident and he respects everyone and is fiercely loyal to his nakama. But also, anyone who can make my daughter smile the way he does is worthy of her hand in marriage. Does that answer your question, Koji?" Hiashi asked.

"Yes, Hiashi-sama." Koji replied.

* * *

"Man Hina-chan, your dad can be very scary." Sasuke said as he and Hinata were walking around the Hyuuga Estates.

"He…he can be though it is mostly because he wants to protect me." Hinata replied.

"Hey Hina-chan, can you check if the tenketsus in my eyes are not messed up." Sasuke asked.

"Why do you ask, Sasuke-kun?" Hinata asked, surprised at the question.

"Because I'm seeing your ice cube of a cousin making out with a girl." Sasuke said, causing Hinata to look around at where Sasuke was looking and gasped at what she saw.

Her cousin Neji was kissing a beautiful Hyuuga girl up against a tree The girl was dressed in a white oriental dress with golden flowers on it, had long violet hair, wore a forehead protector on her head like Neji did, and had black sandals on.

"Haruka-chan! Neji-niisan!" Hinata exclaimed, causing them to cut the kissing session short as they turned around and saw Sasuke and Hinata walking up to them, causing them to blush.

"So Neji, I thought your life sucked." Sasuke said with a wicked grin.

"Urusai Sasuke." Neji replied.

"Haruka-chan, I never knew you and Neji dated?" Hinata asked.

"We just started a few months ago, after the chuunin exam. I always liked Neji-san and I was so happy when he asked me out." Haruka explained.

"I'm so happy for you two." Hinata said with a smile.

"So this is the boy Hinata-sama always talks about, huh?" Haruka said as she looked at Sasuke.

"She does now, huh?" Sasuke asked as he grinned at Hinata.

"H…Haruka-chan!" Hinata exclaimed, blushing as the others laughed.

* * *

"Come in." Tsunade said and then the cat-masked ANBU with Haruno Sakura entered the room.

"I have brought Haruno Sakura here at your request, Hokage-sama." The ANBU said.

"Good job. You can leave us now." Tsunade said and the ANBU did just that.

"Why did you want see me for, Tsunade-sama?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know if Jiraiya told you this already but I had tried to set up a program that would allow squads to have a medic-nin as a member for medical assistance on the battlefield." Tsunade said.

"Oh yes, Jiraiya-san told me about that." Sakura said as she remembered when the perverted sannin told her that story.

"Well, that program was unfortunately rejected because of some constraints but now that I'm Hokage, I am going to make that program a reality and I want you to become it's first success." Tsunade said.

"Wait a minute? What do you mean Tsunade-sama?" Sakura asked.

"What I mean is that you will become my apprentice and learn under me and become an official medic-nin. If you prove to be very successful in your squad then that will be the evidence needed to make my program a reality. Do you accept my proposal, Haruno Sakura?" Tsunade asked.

"Of course I do, Tsunade-sama! It would be my honor!" Sakura exclaimed in joy.

"Tsunade-sama! Jiraiya-sama, Kakashi, and Naruto-kun are waiting for you." Shizune said as she entered the room.

"Oh yes, I forgot about that. Okay Sakura, we will start tomorrow ASAP, understood?" Tsunade said as she started to head out of the room.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama!" Sakura replied.

"I'm happy for you, Sakura-chan and I would be more than happy to help you as well." Shizune said.

"Arigato, Shizune-chan." Sakura said.

* * *

"Okay bimbo and pervert, where the heck are we going and what's going on?" Naruto asked.

"STOP CALLING US THAT!" The two sannins yelled.

"Anyway, we're going to see the council. You see Naruto, you're the last of your clan and hence for every clan, there needs to be a leader and hence why…" Tsunade started to explain.

* * *

"You're going to make him what?" Homura asked as he and the rest of the council were in a room, assembled in a circle.

"You heard me. As of this moment, Namikaze Naruto is now the official leader of the Namikaze Clan and will now be a part of the council." Tsunade said as she, Naruto and Jiraiya were in the room.

"No way…" Naruto said in awe of what he just heard.

"You can't be serious! We can't possibly make him a part of the council! Besides, his father's clan was never even a part of our village!" Homura replied.

"Actually you're wrong. Minato had made the Sandaime Hokage sign a document that allowed Minato to re-create the Namikaze Clan here in Konoha and why it does not hold the same power as many of the clans here, it is still a clan and because Naruto is his legitimate son, that makes Naruto the heir to the clan in case Minato dies, which he did thus making Naruto a leader of his clan and thus allows him proper seating in the council." Jiraiya countered.

"Very well. However, in order to become a member of the council, you will have to…" Homura began to say but was then interrupted by Naruto

"I had enough of this!" Naruto said.

"Naruto!" Tsunade exclaimed.

"Listen and listen well you old farts. I'm the son of the Yondaime Hokage and also the founder of the Namikaze Clan in Konoha. Not only that but I am also the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Youko which means I am the only reason why the demon hasn't laid waste to this village. In layman terms, I'm the only thing keeping you alive right now. Let's review here: I am the son of the Yondaime Hokage. I am the heir to the Namikaze Clan. And I'm the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, the strongest of the tailed beasts." Naruto said.

"So what?" Homura asked.

"Basically, I have leverage against you. I could easily decide to unleash the demon right here and now and no one here would have the capabilities of stopping it. On top of that, with the Namikaze clan back on track Konoha will grow even stronger in power. But if you don't allow me to become an official clan leader then I can easily just leave the village and go to another village and they get the son of the great Namikaze Minato and the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi all in one package. It's your call." Naruto said with a smirk.

'That Naruto…he's basically tied the arms of the council behind their back.' Tsunade thought.

"Alright. We, the council, will officially recognize you as clan leader and make you a part of the council." Homura said grudgingly.

"See? What's that so hard? Besides, I'm just a kid now so you guys won't have to worry about me trying to run things here until much later. Now, to get my stuff so I can move into my estates!" Naruto said and then vanished by performing his Kaze Shunshin.

"You're making a big mistake with that boy. He'll be the death of us all." Homura said.

"You're wrong. He'll be the savior of us all, like his father." Kakashi replied.

"And by the way, if any of you try to make his life a living hell, I will personally remove you from your council seat forever." Tsunade said with a glare, getting her message across the council.

* * *

"Man, I'm going to miss this dump. Oh well, no time to lament." Naruto said as he started to pack all of his belongings when suddenly, there was a knock on the door, "Come in." Naruto said.

"Yo Naruto, what's up?" Sasuke asked as he entered the room. He then raised his eyebrow as he saw Naruto packing his belongings, "Going somewhere?" Sasuke asked.

"Just moving in into my new home. Tsunade gave me a new place to live instead of this dump." Naruto replied.

"I see. Need any help?" Sasuke asked.

"No. I'm okay though." Naruto replied.

"Yo Naruto!" Jiraiya said as he appeared in Naruto's room.

"Why are you here, ero-sennin?" Naruto asked.

"I'm here to let you know that we'll be leaving in about a week." Jiraiya replied.

"Leaving for what?" Naruto asked.

"For training of course. Remember, Akatsuki is going to come after you for the Kyuubi and you'll need to be at your best to defend against them and on top of that, you do remember that you have him to defeat." Jiraiya said, emphasizing on the him.

"Pein…" Naruto whispered as he remembered the spiral-eyed orange-haired man

_Flashback:_

_"I see. Well then I'll leave but know this Naruto if you can hear me. Grow strong boy or else I will destroy everyone you hold dear to you whether from this village or another and know that I will always be hiding in the dark corners of your mind, like a nightmare. Until next time and have a nice day." Pein said and then disappeared._

_End Flashback_

"Wait a minute? Who in the hell is Akatsuki?" Sasuke asked.

"They're an organization made up of nine S-class missing-nins that hunt down for valuable objects and also perform terrorist acts. They're right now hunting down jinchuuriki and Naruto is their top priority. On top of that, Uchiha Itachi is a part of that organization." Jiraiya said.

"So my brother is going to come after Naruto?" Sasuke asked while shaking in anger.

"Precisely." Jiraiya answered.

'I won't! I won't let you kill my best friend, Itachi! I swear it!' Sasuke thought

"Well if I'm leaving so soon, I might as well throw a slumber party. Sasuke, go and tell the others about my party but not about me leaving, I'll tell them when they get here. Here's the address of my new home, make sure they get it as well, okay?" Naruto asked as he handed Sasuke a slip of paper with the address on it.

"No problem." Sasuke said and then headed off.

"I'm going to miss this place for a while." Naruto said.

"I know you will but in order to protect it and also your precious friends, you need greater strength than you have right now. You have a great destiny ahead of you and we need to get you ready for it." Jiraiya said.

"I know, I know." Naruto said.

* * *

"OH MY GOD!" Everyone yelled as they were assembled in front of the Namikaze Estates.

"Welcome everyone to the Namikaze Estates and also, my new home!" Naruto said with a grin.

"Are you seriously telling us this is your home?!" Ino exclaimed.

"Well, it is Namikaze Estates and I am a Namikaze so yeah, it is my new home and it also was the home of the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato and my father." Naruto replied.

"YOU'RE THE SON OF THE YONDAIME!" Everyone except Sakura exclaimed.

"Yep." Naruto said with a grin.

"This is way too incredible to take." Ino said.

"But Naruto, why have a slumber party at your house? Is something going on?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes there is Shikamaru. In about a week from today, I'm leaving the village for a 2.5 year training trip." Naruto said.

"NANI?" Everyone exclaimed.

"But why?" Sakura asked.

"Because I need to get stronger in order to defend myself and you guys. A dangerous organization is after my life and will also try to come after you guys to get to me and I'm not going to let that happen and hence why I'll be going on a training trip with Jiraiya." Naruto explained, "Anyway, I can talk about this later but what I want to do right now is enjoy the last few days of my stay here and I want to enjoy it with you guys so come on in!" Naruto said as he then opened the doors to his estates.

"There's twenty bedrooms so choose a room and make yourself comfortable." Naruto said.

"Wait a minute, you have a singing stage in your living room?" Rose asked.

"Yep and in fact, why don't we have ourselves a singing contest?" Naruto asked with a smirk.

Everyone nodded and immediately went to their rooms to put their things in when suddenly, there was a huge scream.

"That sounded like Sakura-chan!" Naruto said as he then use shunshin to go up the stairs and to the location of Sakura only to see the girl in front of the library, "I should have known." Naruto said with a sigh.

"This is the most beautiful library in the history of libraries. Can I sleep here Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked with puppy eyes.

"Absolutely not." Naruto replied.

"But why not? I'll be a good girl for you if you let me sleep here." Sakura said as she then tried to seduce her boyfriend by touching his ear.

"First of all, seduction isn't going to work and second of all, I am not going to let you sleep in there because you'll never go to sleep!" Naruto replied.

"You're such a big meanie, Naruto-kun." Sakura pouted.

"I'll let you stay here all day tomorrow, alright? But right now, I want to have fun with all of my precious people, okay?" Naruto said with a smile.

"Okay." Sakura replied with a nod.

Naruto and Sakura went downstairs to meet up with everyone who were already looking around the house, including Chouji who was drooling over the kitchen. Then suddenly, a cloud of smoke appeared the door and when the smoke cleared, all of the senseis and also Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Shizune appeared.

"You don't mind if we have some fun at your party as well?" Kakashi asked.

"Of course not." Naruto said with a grin.

"Okay everyone! We're going to have a singing contest. The rules are simple: You sing your song and then three judges will judge your song and in the end, the one with the highest score out of 30 will be declared the best singer out of everyone here!" Ino said as she explained the rules.

"I'll be a judge." Tsunade said.

"Me too." Asuma said.

"Me three." Kurenai said.

"Alright we go our judges. Now, who's up first?" Ino asked.

"How about we do it as teams. We'll start off with Team 7 and then move on until we reach Team Sand." Kakashi proposed.

"THAT IS A GREAT IDEA! AS ALWAYS, YOU CONTINUE TO ASTOUND WITH YOUR REVOLUTIONARY THOUGHTS, KAKASHI!" Gai said with a nice-guy pose.

"I swore I heard someone talk." Kakashi replied, making Gai depressed.

"Alright then, we'll start with Team 7 and we'll start alphabetically so Haruno Sakura is up first!" Ino said.

"I…I am?" Sakura asked.

"C'mon Sakura-chan, you can do it!" Naruto said with a grin.

Sakura nodded and walked up to the stage. She then breathed out and then sang Taking Over by Evanescence

Sakura ended her song and everyone cheered as they liked the song

"I give it a 8.5" Tsunade said.

"I give it 9" Asuma said.

"I give it a 8.5 as well." Kurenai said.

"The total score is 26. Great job Sakura. Next up is Hatake Kakashi." Ino said.

"This should be interesting." Naruto said to Sasuke who nodded in agreement.

Kakashi then sang "Pain" by three days grace. The song was sung beautifully and received a 28 as a score

"Hey guys, can I ask a favor." Naruto asked.

"What is it?" Tsunade asked.

"Can I go last?" Naruto asked.

"If you want to, okay." Tsunade replied.

"Thanks." Naruto said.

Uchiha Sasuke then went up to the stage and sung "Not Listening" by Papa Roach and everyone rocked to the song as Sasuke pulled off his best rock star impersonation. However, he got a 24.

Team 8 was up next and both Shino and Kiba performed well, especially Shino who sang "Numb" by Linkin Park and everyone was so surprised because Shino barely talked and yet sung the song so well and got a 29. Kiba sang "What an Animal have I become" and got a 24 like Sasuke. However, it was Hinata that floored everyone by singing "Innocence" by Avril Lavigne. The song was sung so beautifully that it even made Tsunade and Kurenai cry and even made some of the males in the audience teary-eyed. She automatically got a 30.

Team 10 was up next and Chouji sung "Unknown Soldier" by Breaking Benjamin and received a 22 for it. Shikamaru surprised people by singing "Dare you to Move" by Switchfoot, which was ironic considering the title of the song and Shikamaru's attitude but nevertheless, he got a 25. Ino then sang "Ever Dream" by Nightwish and got a 27.5. Asuma was judging and thus could not sing.

Next up was Team Gai and Neji started off by singing "Breaking the Habit" by Linkin Park and got a well-deserved 28.5. Ten-Ten sang "She's a rebel" by Green Day and got a 24.5. Lee then sang "Faint" by Linkin Park and got a 21. Gai then tried to sing an original song called "The power of youth" but it was so horrible that they had to make him stop mid-way and gave him a 5 for at least trying to sing.

The last team, the Sand Team, was up and it started off with Rose who sang "Umbrella" by Rihanna and got a 28. Temari was up next and sang "Going Under" By Evanescence and also got a 28. Kankuro sang "Tears don't move" by Bullet for my Valentine and got a 23. The last one was none other than Sabaku no Gaara.

"C'mon Gaara, go up and sing!" Sasuke said.

"But…" Gaara started to say.

"Don't worry Gaara-kun, you'll do fine." Rose said.

"Yeah little bro, just go out there and kick some ass!" Kankurou said.

"If you don't, I'll take him away from you." Temari said with a glare. She was referring to Gaara's teddy bear that he still had.

"Okay okay! I'll go already, just don't hurt him." Gaara said as he quickly got up the stage. Gaara then coughed a little to calm his nerves, closed his eyes and was about to sing when,

"Naruto, do you happen to have a guitar?" Gaara asked.

"Let me check." Naruto said and then looked around the house and then came back with an electric guitar

"Never knew my dad liked to play the guitar but oh well. Here you go Gaara." Naruto said and handed the guitar to Gaara.

"Thank you." Gaara said as he took the guitar and then started to sing:

_Crowded streets are cleared away _

_One by one _

_Hollow heroes separate _

_As they run _

_You're so cold _

_Keep your hand in mine_

_Wise men wonder while _

_Strong men die _

_Chorus:_

_Show me how it ends it's alright _

_Show me how defenseless you really are _

_Satisfied and empty inside _

_Well that's all right _

_Let's give this another try _

"Is that really Gaara?" Temari asked.

"I never knew he could sing and play the guitar like that." Kankurou said.

_If you find your family _

_Don't you cry _

_In this land of make believe _

_Dead and dry _

_You're so cold _

_but you feel alive _

_Lay your hand on me _

_One last time _

_(Chorus)_

_Guitar Bridge _

_(Chorus)_

_(It's alright) repeat x9_

Gaara finished and everyone in the room was just speechless.

"Is there something wrong?" Gaara asked.

"This was just amazing!" Naruto exclaimed and everyone cheered in agreement.

"We the judges decide to give you a 30." Tsunade said.

"Who knew my baby brother could sing that good?" Temari said as she ruffled her younger brother's hair.

"I knew my Gaara-kun could do it!" Rose said.

"Last up is Namikaze Naruto!" Ino said.

"Okay, looks like I'll have to give it all I got because there's no way I'm losing." Naruto said with a smirk as he picked up the guitar and started to sing:

_If I had to _

_I would put myself right beside you _

_So let me ask _

_Would you like that? Would you like that? _

_And I don't mind _

_If you say this love is the last time _

_So now I'll ask _

_Do you like that? Do you like that? _

_No!_

_Something's getting in the way _

_Something's just about to break _

_I will try to find my place _

_In the Diary of Jane _

_So tell me how it should be _

_Try to find out _

_What makes you tick _

_As I lie down _

_Sore and sick _

_Do you like that? Do you like that? _

_There's a fine line _

_Between love and hate _

_And I don't mind _

_Just let me say that _

_I like that, I like that _

_Something's getting in the way _

_Something's just about to break _

_I will try to find my place _

_In the Diary of Jane _

_As I burn another page _

_As I look the other way _

_I still try to find my place _

_In the Diary of Jane _

_So tell me how it should be _

_Desperate, I will crawl _

_Waiting for so long _

_No love, there's no love _

_Die for anyone _

_What have I become? _

_Something's getting in the way _

_Something's just about to break _

_I will try to find my place _

_In the Diary of Jane _

_As I burn another page _

_As I look the other way _

_I still try to find my place _

_In the Diary of Jane_

(Diary of Jane by Breaking Benjamin)

"So, how did you guys like that?" Naruto asked with a smirk and everyone cheered.

"People, we have a three-way tie between Hinata, Gaara, and Naruto. Thus, we will put their name in a box and hand-pick our third, second and first place winners." Kurenai said.

They then wrote the names down on slips of paper and put in a red box and shook it up. Kurenai then reached down and took out a paper slip.

"In third place is Namikaze Naruto." Kurenai said, "In second place is Sabaku no Gaara which means our winner of this contest is none other than Hyuuga Hinata!" Kurenai said and everyone cheered, causing Hinata to blush.

"MY BABY IS THE BEST! EAT THAT, BITCHES!" Sasuke hollered

"Don't need to shout it to the world, Sasuke." Shikamaru said.

* * *

The rest of the night went well even though nearly everyone had to keep Lee away from the alcohol but the night went pretty uneventful. Sasuke then went outside into the backyard with his drink in his hand.

"So Sasuke, did you finally tell them?" Kyo said as he appeared.

"Yeah I did. Where the heck have you been?" Sasuke asked.

"Around and it seems Naruto finally got his inheritance. About damn time." Kyo replied.

"Kyo. I found out from Jiraiya that my scum of a brother is in an organization called Akatsuki and that they are after Naruto. Is that true?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes it is, Sasuke." Kyo replied as he took out a cigarette and lit it up.

"Then what the hell am I doing? I need to start training now!" Sasuke yelled.

"And that is exactly what we are going to do. We're going on a training trip for 2.5 years starting next month." Kyo said.

"Is that so? That sounds good to me." Sasuke said with a smirk.

* * *

(Kirikagure)

"By the way, I never heard on how you guys took over here." Rai said as he, Ryo, Kome, and Nina were in a bar with Shinji and the others.

"That is true. I mean, Kirikagure is one of the major ninja villages in the world so how were you guys able to take over it?" Nina asked

"Well, it started like this…" Haku started to say

To Be Continued…

* * *

AN: As always, read and review and next week will be the Kirikagure Gaiden arc! 


	35. Kirikagure Gaiden Part 1

AN: Thank you for your wonderful reviews as always and there it is, chapter 1 of the highly anticipated Kirikagure Gaiden and my only filler and thus after this, it's on to Part 2. It is shorter than my usual chapters but it is an introduction after all. So read and review.

M16 To The Face: I appreciate your honest review and looking back, I can see this is was not my best chapter but I will redeem myself with this upcoming arc.

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 31: Kirikagure Gaiden Part 1

* * *

"So Zabuza-san, do you have any idea on how are we going to take over the Mist?" Haku asked as the trio was getting near the Mist Village.

"Actually, I just thought that I was going to barge in and kill the Mizukage." Zabuza answered.

"Baka! That'll get us killed!" Haku yelled.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea." Shinji said.

"Oh not you too, Shinji-kun." Haku said as she sighed.

"But what we should do first is infiltrate the ranks of the village first, possibly as ANBU or Hunter-nins and then gets the trust of the Mizukage before killing him." Shinji said.

"That's not a bad idea, Shinji. But remember, I'm a missing-nin so how are we going to infiltrate the ranks?" Zabuza asked.

"I got something." Shinji said with a grin.

* * *

"Hey look over there. There's a trio coming straight for us." One of the guards said.

"Halt. State your name and business." The second guard asked as he stopped the trio. The trio consisted of Shinji, Haku, and a gray-haired young man with a white shirt, black pants, a zanbantou strapped behind his back and blue eyes.

"Of course. My name is Sanada Shinji and these are Sanada Haku and the one in the middle is Sanada Kaji, my little brother and we're here in order to see your Mizukage and ask if we can become ninjas of this village." Shinji answered with a grin.

"And how do we know you're not lying? For all we know, you three could easily be missing-nins." The second guard asked suspiciously.

"We are not sir. Me and my brothers lost our parents when were just seven and since then have been trying to get by in life, surviving with only a few pieces of food each day. We don't know anywhere else to go so please, find it in your heart to let us enter your wonderful village, I'm begging you." Haku said as the trio faked their sadness.

"Okay okay, you can enter. Just make sure to talk to the Mizukage first." The first guard said.

"Arigato." Shinji said as he and the others then entered the village.

"Little brother? I am so going to kill you after we're done with this, kid." 'Kaji' growled.

"What's the matter, otouto?" Shinji asked with a smirk.

"That's it, you're dead!" 'Kaji' growled.

"Urusai, both of you! You're acting childish." Haku said, stopping the fight.

* * *

"What can I do for you three?" A black-haired female secretary asked as our trio were inside the Mizukage Tower.

"We want to talk to the Mizukage about being instated into this village and the ranks of the ninja corps." Haku said.

"Hmm, I see. Hold on, let me see if she's available." The secretary said as she then pressed a button on the intercom.

"It's a she?" The trio all exclaimed.

"Yes, it's a she and she's currently available." The secretary said.

"Thank you." Shinji said and then the trio headed off.

KNOCK KNOCK.

"Come in." A voice said and our trio entered the room. Inside was the Mizukage in her robes and her face was uncovered and she had hazel eyes and silver hair and looked quite young. Next to her was a man with a ponytail, a goatee, and wore a black jacket, black sash, white hakama, and black socks with white sandals and a katana strapped to his left side.

'No way…' 'Kaji' thought.

"I heard from my secretary that you wanted to be instated into our village and also our ninja corps, correct?" The Mizukage said with a soft voice.

"That is correct, Mizukage-sama." Haku said.

"I can have you instated into our village but for our ninja corps, that would be quite problematic since we don't really know any of your skills." The Mizukage said.

"Actually, we're ANBU level and we can prove it if you let us, Mizukage-sama." Shinji said.

"That's some confidence kid but I doubt you are ANBU material." The man said with a smirk.

"How about this?" Shinji asked as he held the man's sword in his left hand, "Does that prove that we're ANBU material?" Shinji asked with a grin.

"Not bad kid. Alright, we'll see what you got. Meet us in the training room in the second floor. We'll test your skills." The man said sternly.

"Right now?" Shinji asked.

"Why? Are you scared, kid?" The man asked.

"No, it's just that things are going so fast." Shinji responded.

"Well get used to it, this is the Mist Village after all." The man said.

* * *

"Alright then, welcome to our training room in the temple. The premise is simple; Defeat one of these three ANBU in combat and you're in, just that simple." Daigo said with a smirk.

The training room had tiger and dragon paintings on the wall and floor tiles.

"Then do you mind if I go first?" Shinji asked with a smirk.

"Sure, knock yourself out." Daigo said and then one of the ANBU stepped up to the center of the training room and so did Shinji.

"Ready? Hajime (Begin)!" Daigo said.

Then in a flash, Shinji was in front of the ANBU with his katana pointing to the ANBU's neck.

'I didn't even see him move.' The Anbu thought.

"Is that good enough, Daigo-san?" Shinji asked.

"That's more than enough. Also, are the other two as strong as you?" Daigo asked intrigued as he pointed to Haku and Kaji.

"Yep." Shinji responded with a grin.

"Then there's no point for anymore testing, you guys are in." Daigo said with a grin.

"Really?" The trio exclaimed.

"Yeah, really. I can tell when people have what it takes to be ANBU shinobis or hunter-nins and you guys have what it takes." Daigo said.

"Thank you so much, Heishiro-san, and you won't be disappointed with us, we promise!" Haku said in joy.

"Now go on ahead, you'll start on duty tomorrow." Daigo said and the trio nodded and left.

Minutes later, a young man with a dark blue hair, black eyes, black coat with a black shirt and white pants and white shoes arrived in the training room.

"Nice to see you here, Saito." Daigo said.

"Do you really think it was a good idea to let them enter the corps? You do realize that one of them is Momoichi Zabuza in disguise, the former leader of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist and that the other male is sensei's son and the last of his clan." Saito said coldly.

"Don't worry, everything is going to according to plan and in fact, you might say that these three are a blessing in disguise for me." Daigo said with a dark smirk.

* * *

"Well, that was a bit too easy." Shinji said as they entered their apartment.

"But still, we should be thankful that we made this far into enemy territory without being suspected of anything yet. All we need to do now is get their trust and then we move in for the kill." Haku said.

"I'm going to a place where I can some information about what has been happening in here. You guys don't try anything naughty while I'm gone now." Kaji said with a pervert giggle as he was heading out the door.

"SHUT UP!" Both teenagers yelled with reddened faces as Kaji left the apartment.

"Damn that perverted bastard!" Shinji growled.

"Hey Shinji-kun, I want to bring you somewhere." Haku said.

"Where?" Shinji asked.

* * *

'Seems like it hasn't changed much.' Kaji thought as he entered a tavern. Once inside, he walked up to the bar, and sat down.

"What will you have, young man?" A brown-haired waitress with auburn eyes and wearing a white shirt with a red apron, black skirt and shoes asked.

"The same as always, Kas." Kaji replied.

"What are you doing here again, and why are you in that disguise?" Kasumi asked as she recognized who it was.

"I'm in that disguise because I'm a wanted man here and I cam back here in order to raise some hell." Kaji said with a grin

"I see. Guess you haven't changed at all." Kasumi smirked.

"Nope, though it seems this village hasn't gotten much worse than before." Kaji said as he looked around and buffoons and morons getting drunk and fighting.

"You can say that. This village is not as tough as it used to be, it's now a place where only losers live and also has become the perfect place to drown your sorrows in. It hasn't been the same since you and the others were a part of the village and when you didn't try to kill the Mizukage." Kasumi said.

"I see. The Mizukages, ever since the second, have always been corrupted hence I tried to assassinate the last Mizukage." Kaji said.

"And let me guess, you came back to try again, didn't you?" Kasumi asked with a smirk.

"You got it though this time might prove to be more problematic." Kaji said.

"And what do you mean by that?" Kasumi asked as she gave Kaji a beer.

"Apparently, Daigo is the bodyguard of the Mizukage and you do remember what happened the last time I faced off against him." Kaji said as he took a sip of the beer.

"You're talking about Heishiro Daigo, correct?" Kasumi asked.

"Yeah…" Kaji said.

"Despite what happened between the two of you, he has tried to help out this village but unfortunately, the village hasn't been so receptive to his help. Anyway, I know you didn't just come here to have small talk, you're here for information, right?" Kasumi asked with a grin.

"You know me too well, Kas. I need information on the rebels since before I left here, I heard information about the rise of rebel groups who would try to take over the Mist." Kaji replied.

"Well, I did hear rumors of a group and there have been numerous attacks that have taken place but so far, no group have stepped forward. It's like no one who wants to show their face at all which is kind of weird." Kasumi said.

"And why is that weird?" Kaji asked.

"Think about it, why would they be afraid of admitting that they're the ones doing this? There's not even a rumor of any names whatsoever, nothing at all." Kasumi said.

"Maybe there's something you missed?" Kaji asked.

"I never miss anything. You've known me for ten years now and you know that I never miss any information and that my information is always accurate." Kasumi replied.

"So then what are you saying? Is there a rebel group or not?" Kaji asked as he was getting confused.

"That's the problem, I can't figure it out. There are signs that there is one and then there are signs that there aren't any rebel groups." Kasumi said.

"I see. Oh well, thanks for the drink and info, I'll catch up with you later." Kaji said and was about to leave when Kasumi pulled him and kissed him on the lips.

"It's good to see you back but next time, no need for the disguise okay?" Kasumi said with a grin.

"I'll be sure to remember that." Kaji said with a smirk and he then left the tavern but as soon as he did, he saw Daigo standing there.

"Mr.Heishiro, what can I do for you?" Kaji asked.

"I wanted to know of your honest opinion of this village, that's all." Daigo answered.

"My honest opinion? Why for?" Kaji asked with a raised eyebrow

"Because I can see it in your eyes that you're different from the others, that you also want change and that is something that I tried for so long." Daigo answered.

"To be honest, this country is just not tough enough. It has become a country full of pussies that bend over at the sight of danger instead of striking back." Kaji said.

"So I was not the only one who saw this, huh? This country was once a powerful military force, easily in at the top of all of the other countries. But they led that ego of theirs get the best of them and thus they began to decay until they reach this state. Now, the Mist is an afterthought compared to other villages but I will not let this go on any longer. I will make the Mist a military power once more! Kaji, would you and your siblings lend me your strength?" Daigo asked.

"Of course. It is also my dream to make the Mist into a powerful nation once again." Kaji said with a smile and both men then shook hands.

* * *

"So this is your house, Haku-chan?" Shinji asked as the duo were in front of the remains of Haku's house.

"Yes it was…" Haku said softly as her face saddened.

"Haku-chan, you didn't have to bring me here if it made you sad." Shinji said as he wrapped his left arm around Haku's neck.

"It's okay, Shinji-kun. I wanted to bring you here after all." Haku said with a soft smile, "Oh wait I forgot to ask." Haku said.

"What is it Haku-chan?" Shinji asked.

"Where is your house? You told me that you used to live in the Mist as well and I was wondering where it was?" Haku asked.

"My house….well you see, I don't have a house anymore, it was burned to the ground." Shinji said with a saddened look on his face.

"Gomen nasai, Shinji-kun. I didn't mean to bring back bad memories." Haku said as she saw the look on her boyfriend's face.

"It's okay Haku-chan, it really is." Shinji said.

"So that is why I was not able to find his house." A voice said and when our duo turned around, they saw Saito, "Where are my manners? My name is Yuu Saito, nice to meet you." Saito said with a bow and smile.

"Our names are Haku and Shinji." Haku said, introducing themselves.

"So, what did you mean by his house? We're you talking about my father?" Shinji asked.

"I was. You see, I was once his student since he was my jounin sensei." Saito said.

"My dad was your jounin sensei? SUGOI!" Shinji exclaimed.

"Yes he was and he was a great one. Taught me many values, including the value of one's sword, on how it should be used to protect instead of killing and also the value of justice." Saito said.

"That sounds like my dad alright." Shinji said.

"Now I that notice it, you do look awfully like your father. Have you activated your kekkai genkai?" Saito asked.

"You know about my kekkai genkai from my father, right? Well, I have activated though I haven't advanced it yet." Shinji replied.

"I see. Your father's kekkai genkai was amazing and what made him one of the deadliest swordsman to ever grace the Mist. I expect great things from you, Shinji." Saito said as he then vanished.

"I knew you would have brought him here." Kaji said as he walked onto the couple, "Who were you talking to, Shinji?" Kaji asked.

"No one important really." Shinji said.

"Alright then, let's go back." Kaji said.

* * *

The other two nodded and headed back to the apartment but before they could even enter the said apartment, an ANBU black ops appeared before them.

"You three are ordered by Heishiro-taichou to appear in the Mizukage Temple." The ANBU said.

* * *

"The Mizukage is going to be what?" The trio exclaimed as they were inside the room where the Mizukage was located inside the temple.

"A letter was sent to her and inside, it said that they're going to try and kill her tonight." Daigo said.

"And you want us to protect the Mizukage?" Kaji asked.

"Correct. I trust you three are more than enough for this but to be safe, we'll be making shift changes as well to provide relief." Daigo answered, and then left the room.

"I guess we'll finally get some action." Kaji said with a grin.

"Thank you for your protection." The Mizukage said.

"No problem, Mizukage-sama." Haku said with a smile.

"My only problem with all of this is that why did they send a letter? Don't they know that it would tighten the security?" Shinji pondered.

"Either they're complete morons or are extremely overconfident. Either way, it doesn't matter to me." Kaji said.

"Hey you guys, we're here to take over for you." One of the two ANBU who entered the room said. He was taller than his companion and wore a red oni mask with a zanbantou strapped to his back. His partner was shorter but had silver hair and wore a white dog mask with a longsword strapped to his back.

"Already?" Haku asked.

"Yeah, Daigo-taichou wanted to make faster shifts in order to keep the security at a high constant level and to throw off the attackers." The shorter one replied.

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea but I just can't let you two together with her." Kaji said and pointed his zanbantou at the duo.

"Dude, what the fuck is wrong with you? Why are you pointing your sword at us for?" The taller one asked.

"Actually, I would like to know that too, Kaji?" Shinji asked.

"There is only one reason why I'm doing this and it is because of their bloodlust. The ANBU are always taught to keep their emotions and bloodlust in check so that way, they could go anywhere undetected but their bloodlust, especially that of the tall one, are not so controlled. So, are you two the ones that want to assassinate the Mizukage?" Kaji asked.

"So you find us out, huh? Then I guess there's no need for us to hold back anymore!" The tall one yelled as he pulled out his zanbantou and swung at Kaji, who readied his own sword and block the blow but was then pushed back into a wall.

"Yo, Izoa. Take care of the bitch while I go have some fun!" The tall one said to his partner as he ran toward where Kaji landed.

"Yare yare daze." The one called Izoa said.

"Haku!" Shinji exclaimed.

"Right on it!" Haku nodded as she held the Mizukage close to her and was about to leave when Izoa appeared behind them with his sword out. He was about to cut Haku and the Mizukage down when Shinji appeared in front of him and knocked him back with a mid-air roundhouse kick to the face, knocking him back about ten meters.

"Go now! Kaji and I will hold them back!" Shinji said as he took out his katana and then used his kekkai genkai to turn it into a Chinese broadsword.

"Be careful Shinji." Haku said before leaving.

"So, what's your name?" Shinji asked with a grin.

"It's useless to tell my name to a dead man." Izoa said as he took off his disguise and revealed himself to be a silver-haired man with silver eyes, a black-zipped up shirt, black pants, boots, and gloves.

"Is that so? Well, then go ahead and try!" Shinji replied.

Shinji then used his Shunchi reappear in front of Izoa in order to knock him down with a roundhouse kick but Izoa was able to read his movements perfectly and grabbed the roundhouse kick with his right arm and then flung Shinji away, sending the young man flying.

"Rouha (Wolf Wave)!" Izoa then yelled as he swung his sword vertically and slammed it on the ground, unleashing a wave of chakra that headed straight for Shinji.

"Oh crap!" Shinji said as he saw the attack coming for him and he then put his right hand on the ground to stop himself from flying. He then twisted his body around and swung his blade and unleashed his own chakra wave that collided with Izoa's and caused both attacks to be nullified and create an explosion. When the smoke cleared, Izoa had now two swords, one on each hand and had them crossed like an X.

"When did he get out that other sword?" Shinji gasped.

"Ni-GIRI (Two Slashes)!" Izoa yelled out and then dashed toward Shinji at inhuman speed and swung his swords but Shinji was able to Shunchi to reappear twenty meters behind Izoa.

"Shinshou!" Shinji yelled out and then his sword extended itself toward the silver-haired man who put up his sword in front to block it but was then pushed out of the temple and into the courtyard.

"What the hell is up with this guy's sword?" The silver-haired man mumbled only to look up and see his opponent in mid-air.

"Benihikou!" Shinji yelled as he then shot dozens of swords from his own sword down at the intruder who smirked and then deflected them all with his own swords.

"Woah, he's good." Shinji said with a grin.

"Hi-nigiri (Flying Two Slashes)!" Izoa yelled out as he then flew toward Shinji and swung both his swords at the young man, who blocked the attack but was then knocked back toward the ground by the force of the collision but luckily, he was able to land on his feet.

"Ni-ga (Two Fangs)!" Izoa yelled and unleashed two waves of chakra in the forms of fangs from his sword toward Shinji.

Shinji dodged the attacks but then saw Izoa come down with his swords and put up his sword to block the attack, which upon contact forced the ground underneath Shinji to cave in. Shinji pushed Izoa back and tried to strike back with a left roundhouse kick to the face but Izoa ducked and countered with a somersault kick to the chin, sending Shinji flying about twenty meters into the air before falling to the ground but luckily for him, he was able to land on his feet.

"So you're still not going to tell me your name?" Shinji asked with a grin.

"The name's Sogai Izoa." Izoa said.

"Well then Izoa, let's keep having some fun." Shinji said and then dashed toward Izoa.

* * *

"Daigo-san!" Haku said as she appeared near the entrance of the temple where Daigo was located.

"Haku! Mizukage-sama!" Daigo gasped as he saw them.

"The attackers infiltrated the temple under the disguise of ANBU shinobi." Haku said.

"Where are they now?" Daigo asked.

"Kaji and Shinji are fighting them at this moment." Haku answered.

"I see. Haku, get the Mizukage to safety. Meanwhile, I'll go get help for your friends." Daigo said.

"Hai." Haku said with a nod before heading out.

* * *

Shockwaves could be felt as Kaji clashed with the other intruder, who long got rid of his disguise and was revealed to be a blue-haired young man with jagged teeth, blue eyes, black shirt, white pants, and black shoes.

"You're not bad, kid." Kaji said.

"The name's Suigetsu and you're not bad for a government lapdog, motherfucker." Suigetsu said with a smirk as he then jumped up in the air and swung his sword downward at Kaji who swung back his sword in response and the force of the collision between both swords caused the ground to cave in. Kaji roared and then knocked Suigetsu back by unleashing a chakra wave from his sword. Suigetsu landed on the ground only to roll out of the way as Kaji came down swinging with his sword.

"Now you're mine!" Suigetsu yelled out as he swung his sword in order to decapitate Kaji but the latter grabbed the incoming blade with his left hand.

"What the hell?" Suigetsu yelled as he was pulled in by Kaji and then knocked back with a left kick to the gut. The kick sent him flying about twenty meters before hitting the ground.

Then, Izoa and Shinji came crashing down to where they were fighting.

"Looks like you're getting your butt kicked, Sui-chan." Izoa said smirking.

"Urusai, Izoa-teme!" Suigetsu yelled, "Though I have to admit that I am loving this! It's much better than fighting fodder ANBU ninjas." Suigetsu said with a smirk.

"Those guys are pretty tough, right?" Shinji said as he was next to Kaji.

"They wouldn't be so tough if I was able to fight at full strength." Kaji growled.

"Stop this right now!" Daigo yelled as he and the others arrived and surrounded the courtyard.

"Kuso." Izoa growled.

"Nice work you two. You were able to protect the Mizukage and also hold off the assailants long enough for us to capture them." Daigo said to Kaji and Shinji as he then walked up to Izoa and Suigetsu.

"Go fuck yourself!" Suigetsu growled and then swung his sword at Daigo who then blocked it with his right hand and then, using his left fist, punched Suigetsu hard in the gut and knocked him out cold.

'He's strong.' Izoa thought as he witnessed what just happened.

"Take them away! We will interrogate them in the morning." Daigo ordered his men before turning to Kaji and Shinji, "You two go get some rest. You will need all your strength tomorrow since you two and that sister of yours are the ones doing the interrogation." Daigo said.

"Them? But sir, they're rookies! Shouldn't the interrogation be assigned to senior members?" One of the ANBU asked.

"Are you doubting my leadership skills? If I assign them to the interrogation, it is because I believe that they are more than qualified in handling it. Now, do what I assigned you to do immediately." Daigo said sternly with a tone that demanded authority. The ANBU nodded and headed off.

"But Daigo-sama, he is right you know. We're just rookies, shouldn't this go other more qualified members?" Kaji asked.

"Normally it should but you two saved the Mizukage and proved more than enough credentials for a simple interrogation. What's wrong, scared?" Daigo asked jokingly.

"No sir, just making sure everything goes according to protocol." Kaji replied.

"Sometimes not doing things according to the rules can be beneficial. Now if you would excuse me but I have somewhere to be at this moment." Daigo said.

"That guy…I never did trust him and I still don't trust him." Kaji said.

* * *

In a large room lit by candles, there were numerous individuals all dressed in different robes and were all middle-aged. They were conversing between each other when suddenly, the Mizukage, along with Daigo and several others, arrived in the middle of the room.

"Mizukage-sama!" They all said.

"Mizukage-sama, are you alright?" One of them asked.

"I am alright, thank you for your concern." The Mizukage said softly.

"Hmm. Ladies and gentleman of the council, we need to have a talk." Daigo said sternly, silencing everyone in the room.

To Be Continued…

AN: As always, read and review!

AN #2: For changes to Shinji's kekkai genkai, read the rewritten version of the Wave Arc.


	36. Kirikagure Gaiden Part II

In a large room lit by candles, there were numerous individuals all dressed in different robes and were all middle-aged. They were conversing between each other when suddenly, the Mizukage, along with Daigo and several others, arrived in the middle of the room.

"Mizukage-sama!" They all said.

"Mizukage-sama, are you alright?" One of them asked.

"I am alright, thank you for your concern." The Mizukage said softly.

"Hmm. Ladies and gentleman of the council, we need to have a talk." Daigo said sternly, silencing everyone in the room.

* * *

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 32: Kirikagure Gaiden Part II

* * *

"What is it you wish to speak of, Heishiro Daigo?" One of the council members asked.

"I believe that it is now time to re-militarize the Mist Village like it was back then." Daigo answered.

"You can't be serious!" The council member exclaimed.

"Do you realize how much effort we had to undertake in order to modernize the Mist Village from that barbaric rule?" An elderly woman exclaimed.

"Yes, I do remember how much effort it took but I also remember that during those time, the Mist was feared by nearly every village, even the Leaf, for its military might and prowess and during those times, no one would even dare try to threaten the Mizukage's life and yet look at what happened tonight! The Mizukage was nearly killed if it wasn't for three of my men." Daigo said.

"Daigo-san…" The Mizukage said softly.

"I understand your logic behind this but we have sacrificed too much just to go back to the ways things where and besides, if we were to remilitarize then this would only resurface bad memories, memories that the public have tried very hard to get rid of. Also, it would cost too much money for us to militarize right now considering our economy. What we can do however is at least increase the budgets for the ANBU division." The elderly woman and leader of the council said.

"I actually have thought of another way to help with my plans." Daigo said.

"And what is that?" A council member asked.

"Simple, I will simply start off my re-militarization of the Mist via the academy." Daigo said with a grin.

"YOU WILL ABSOLUTELY NOT! I will not allow you to use the future of our village for your selfish needs!" The council leader yelled.

"MY SELFISH NEEDS! I am not doing this for myself but for the village! I am doing this because I am proud of my village and I am tired of it being looked down upon the villages as insignificant, unlike the rest of you who are satisfied with living a life of celibacy!" Daigo growled.

"You will hold your tongue, Heishiro!" The council leader barked back.

"Please everyone! I am sure that we can resolve this calmly." The Mizukage said as she tried to calm down the tension.

"We will consider it in the near future but for right now, the best course of action is to increase the total number of ANBU squads. Meeting is adjourned." The council leader said.

* * *

(Next day)

"I already told you cocksucker, we don't know anything." Suigetsu said while he and Izoa were in an interrogation room in the prison.

"Look, the faster you tell us who sent you, the better a deal you can make." Kaji said as he and his companions were in an interrogation room along with Izoa and Suigetsu, who were currently in cuffs.

"Can you really say that?" Haku whispered into Kaji's ears.

"Of course, this is an old ANBU tactic used in order to make the captives more cooperative." Kaji whispered back.

"It's like my dumbass of a friend said, we don't know anything." Izoa said nonchalantly.

"Did you really have to call me a dumbass?" Suigetsu asked.

"Of course I did, it was the thesis of my statement." Izoa replied with a smirk.

"Teme!" Suigetsu growled.

"So let me get this straight? You tried to assassinate the Mizukage for no reason at all?" Shinji asked.

"We had a reason. Someone was going to pay us a hefty sum for her pretty head and besides, we were bored." Izoa said.

"You did for money and for fun?" Haku repeated, looking at them quizzically.

"Are you deaf woman? Yeah we did it for those reasons, it's not like we need some extravagant reason or shit for us to do something like that." Suigetsu said.

"What else? What did this person look like? What was his/her agenda?" Kaji asked.

"We got nothing." Izoa sighed.

"Are you seriously telling me that you remember nothing from a person who personally asked you two to kill the Mizukage?" Kaji asked.

"Exactly, we got nothing, as in nada, zilch, zero. Do you want me to spell it out for you?" Izoa said only to get pinned into the wall by Kaji.

"Kaji!" Haku and Shinji yelled.

"Don't screw with me, kid!" Kaji growled.

"Sorry but I don't swing that way." Izoa said with a smirk.

"Seems you're not getting anything out of them, are you?" A voice said and everyone turned and saw none other than Yuu Saito.

'I know that guy…' Kaji thought as he finally got a good look at Saito for the first time.

"Yuu-taichou!" Haku exclaimed.

"Saito, what are you doing here?" Shinji said only to get bonked upside the head by Haku, "What was that for?" Shinji asked confused.

"He's your superior officer, treat him with more respect." Haku replied, reprimanding her boyfriend's rude behavior.

"It's okay, I'm sure he meant no disrespect. Anyway, it seems our prisoners are not willing to divulge us with any useful information I see." Saito said as he glared at the two captives, who didn't even flinch under the glare.

"This is how it happened okay." Izoa began to say, "We were hanging out in a tavern not too far from the village when this man dressed up in weird clothes with a white tengu mask on came up to us and told us that he wanted us to kill the Mizukage. At first we thought it was crazy and just tried to screw around with us and we were going to kill him. But then he told us that he was not lying and that he was dead serious and then he brought us somewhere where there were people dressed just like him and all they kept shouting about was a revolution." Izoa said.

"A revolution? What kind of revolution?" Saito asked.

"He called it a revolution that will bring a new age of power to the Mist. Anyway, he told us that if we succeeded in pulling this off, we not only receive a huge amount of ryo but also have our names be removed from the bingo books, and with such an offer, how could we refuse?" Izoa said.

"I see. Alright guards, take them back to their cells." Saito ordered.

"Matte, Saito-taichou." Shinji said.

"What is it?" Saito asked.

"I need to ask them one more question." Shinji said.

"Alright, make it quick." Saito nodded.

"Arigato," Shinji said before turning to the prisoners, "Why did you two write the letter revealing your attack?" Shinji asked.

"What letter? We never wrote a letter and besides, what kind of dumbass telegraphs his move to his opponent?" Izoa asked as he and Suigetsu were taken back to their cells.

"So they didn't send a letter?" Haku asked.

"But if they didn't, then how were we alerted of the attack? What do you think, Kaji?" Shinji asked only to find the latter gone, "Kaji? Where did he go?" Shinji asked.

* * *

'This…all of this is way too familiar. The Tengu masked rebels, the revolution…all of this is too familiar and also all too tied into this man…Heishiro Daigo.' Zabuza, who had long gotten rid of his disguise, thought as he was racing through the forest.

"Hey, what do you think he will talk to us about this time?" A person wearing a white tengu mask asked as he and several were sitting in a clearing deep in the forest.

"I don't know but whatever it is, it's going to be good." Another person wearing a white tengu mask answered and it was seen that literally everyone was dressed in purple robes and tengu mask.

Suddenly, three individuals, also dressed in tengu masks but of different colors, walked out of a temple that was not too far from the clearing and looked at all of the attendees.

"Everyone, I am glad that you made it to our meeting. Yesterday, the Mizukage was attacked but unfortunately she escaped with her life thanks to her government lapdogs." The head of the group said and everyone booed in response.

"I understand your frustration but you have nothing to worry about. Our revolution will still take place and shall not be denied!" The man said, causing a roar of agreement to be heard.

"Che, just like last time. It's just the same as last time." Zabuza said behind some trees as he was observing the meeting.

"But because of our inactivity so far, the government has reduced us to a mere afterthought and our revolution is thought to be nothing more than mere child's play. But I say this, now is the time for us to take up arms and set in motions the wheels of our revolution. And remember, we are not doing this for ourselves but for the sake of this nation, this nation which has fallen into the lowest of lows, a nation that is a mere shell of its former glory. Hence why I say, that we begin our revolution today in order to save our nation from destruction!" The leader yelled and everyone roared.

"I DON'T THINK SO, DAIGO!" Zabuza yelled as he leaped up toward the leader with his zanbantou swinging. The leader then took out his sword and blocked the blow and the force of the collision knocked everyone back..

"Isn't that missing-nin Momoichi Zabuza?" One of the people asked.

"My people, do you see what the government is trying to do now? They have sent this missing-nin to try and stop our revolution. We can no longer stand idle and do nothing, we must act now! Take up your arms and storm the city and destroy this government!" The tengu leader roared.

"REVOLUTION!" The crowd roared and then headed off.

"Shit…" Zabuza cursed.

"Zabuza, it seems you're here and it seems you haven't changed at all…however, I'm not who you think I am." The tengu leader said and then pushed Zabuza off him.

"What are you talking about? The only one who could come up with such a plan is Daigo." Zabuza growled.

"You're right about that but you see, Daigo is one step ahead of you and is already back at the tower. My only job now is to delay you until the plan is complete!" The man said and then took off his mask and clothing and he was dressed in a black armor with white pants, black shoes, black gloves, wild brown hair, and has two spiked swords strapped to his back.

"Kurosuki Raiga." Zabuza growled.

"It's been a while hasn't it, Zabuza, or should I say Zabuza-aniki, leader of the Seven Swordsman of the Miat." Raiga said with a smirk.

"Let me guess, Daigo is paying you to kill me in order not for me to interfere with his plans, right?" Zabuza asked.

"I could care less about money, I want just to kill you so much since me, Kisame, and Daigo didn't quite finish the job." Raiga sneered.

"What a glorious occasion, I get to kill two of the three men that betrayed me, all in one day. It's like my birthday just came early." Zabuza chuckled.

"I wouldn't be so cocky, you couldn't defeat me then and you won't defeat me now and even if you do, you will be too late to stop his plans!" Raiga yelled.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. Now, let's get down to it!" Zabuza yelled.

"With pleasure! Raiken (Lightning Sword)!" Raiga yelled and then his sword became imbued in lightning. He then connected both swords to form a large sword and then dashed toward Zabuza and then both swung their swords and created a large shockwave.

"Ryuurai (Lightning Dragon)!" Raiga yelled and unleashed a lightning dragon from his sword at Zabuza, only for the latter to knock it back into the air with his chakra-enhanced sword.

"You fell right for my trap! Ryuu No Kami (God of the Dragon)!" Raiga yelled as his dragon then shot downward and electrocuted Zabuza full force. Then Zabuza fell to the ground, all charred up.

"So Zabuza, how did you like my technique? Quite shocking isn't it?" Raiga asked and then started to laugh when suddenly, the air started to get thicker and then a mist took over.

"Didn't I have ever taught you about getting too cocky, Raiga?" Zabuza's voice echoed throughout the mist.

'So that other Zabuza was a clone. I was careless.' Raiga thought.

"So yourself!" Raiga yelled.

"I'm the one giving out the orders. Now, tell me what I need to know or else I'm taking a limb." Zabuza warned.

"Like I would tell you anything." Raiga said.

"Yare yare daze." Zabuza said and then in an instant, Raiga's left hand was chopped off, causing the man to yell in pain, "One limb down, many more to go. Oh yeah, I'm going to have fun with this." Zabuza chuckled.

* * *

"What in the world is that?" One of the guards asked as they saw the crowd heading their way.

"It's the Tengu Group! Let's…" The second guard yelled only to get stabbed in the neck by one of the Tengus. Before the other guard could do anything, he was decapitated as the rebel group entered the village.

* * *

"This can't be happening!" One of the members of the council said as she saw the rebels attacking the village.

"Dispatch all available men. Daigo, if you clean up this mess then we'll listen to whatever offers you want." The council leader said.

"Excellent. You, call the young lady Haku here immediately. She'll serve as additional bodyguard for the Mizukage, and also, tell those two to eliminate our prisoners." Daigo told a nearby ANBU.

"What do you want us to do?" Asked the council leader.

"Just stay put, I'm about to make you watch something very interesting." Daigo said with a smirk which confused the council.

* * *

"Okay you two, it's time for your early execut…." The guard began to say as he was walking along with two other cloaked individuals when he arrived at the cell that contained or was supposed to contain the duo but instead found two unconscious guards.

"It seems as if they've escaped." One of the two cloaked individuals said.

"Do not worry, they have not gone very far knowing them." The other one said.

* * *

"Sweet, looks like we got ourselves a battlefield." Suigetsu hollered as he saw the carnage happening around them.

"Well then, I don't think we should make ourselves strangers to all of this. Besides, their leader owes us big time." Izoa said as he pulled out his sword.

They were about to head off when suddenly, the two cloaked individuals from the prison appeared upon them.

"What the hell?" Suigetsu asked.

"You two are Houzhiki Suigetsu and Sogai Izoa, correct?" The one to the right asked.

"Yeah and who's asking?" Izoa asked.

The two individuals then took of their cloaks and revealed themselves. The one on the left was big and muscular with dark skin, black hair, and was wearing black gloves, no shirt, light green pants, and a large sword strapped to his back. The other one wore a triangular straw hat, dark red hair with a ponytail, black shirt and black hakama, and a katana in his hand.

"My name is Aijin and this is my brother Gojin and we have been hunting you two down for quite a while, especially you Izoa." Aijin, the smaller of the two brothers said.

"Is that so?" Izoa smirked.

"Oh yes it is. You two are S-class wanted criminals responsible for many crimes including the now failed assassination of the Mizukage." Aijin replied.

"We were hoping to finish you off at the prison but finishing you off here in this battlefield is much better, don't you agree big brother?" Gojin asked.

"I wholeheartedly agree, little brother." Aijin said.

"Then what the fuck are you two cocksuckers waiting for, huh? BRING IT ON!" Suigetsu roared as he pulled out his sword, "Yo Izoa, I let you have pretty boy. Big guy is mine!" Suigetsu said.

"Whatever." Izoa said.

Both groups then dashed toward each other and then began to fight each other.

* * *

"What in the world is going on?" Shinji asked as he, Saito, and Haku were fighting off the intruders.

"This must be the doings of the Tengu." Saito said.

"The Tengu?" Haku asked.

"Yes, the Tengu is a rebel faction that has been against the government for years now and probably decided to unleash their revolution after what happened with the Mizukage." Saito explained.

"This isn't good at all, we have to help out the Mizukage and the people as soon as possible." Shinji said.

"Haku-san, you have been requested to provide protection for the Mizukage under the orders of Heishiro-taichou." The Anbu sent by Daigo said as he arrived next to the three.

"Me?" Haku gasped.

"Haku, you go ahead and protect the Mizukage. Her protection is our first priority. Me and Shinji will clean up the mess." Saito said.

"Understood. Be careful, Shinji." Haku said before leaving.

"I wonder why Daigo-san wanted Haku to protect the Mizukage and not me? Hmm, looks like I'll have to show him what I made of." Shinji said while fuming.

"So Shinji. When were you and Haku going to let us know that you were working in cahoots in Zabuza?" Saito asked with a glare.

"Huh? W…what are you talking about, Saito-taichou?" Shinji asked nervously.

"Just like father like son, you both betray the country for the same person." Saito said.

"What do you mean?" Shinji asked.

"You're father and mother betrayed this village for Zabuza and you're doing the exact same thing and just like them, you will pay for your mistake and go to hell!" Saito yelled as he then quickly drew out his katana from his sheath and swung in a lightning-quick motion but Shinji was able to block the attack,

'His sword…it has no blade' Shinji observed.

"Not bad, you're good. Not even your father could block my unique blade But let's see if you can defeat me in combat, unlike he could." Saito said with a smirk.

"Wait a minute; we're you the one who killed my parents?" Shinji asked.

"Maybe…" Saitou shrugged.

In an instant, Shinji dashed toward and swung his sword but Saito was able to block it with his blade.

"What is it boy, do you want to take revenge?" Saito asked.

"Why? You said yourself that my father was your jounin sensei so why did you kill him? WHY DIDN'T YOU HELP HIM?!" Shinji asked.

"I'll tell you if you defeat me, gaki." Saito replied.

"Gladly!" Shinji yelled. He then turned his katana into a Chinese broadsword and started to swing it multiple times at Saito only for the latter to dodge continuously.

"Stop messing around with me!" Shinji roared and then rolls in mid-air and comes down with a left heel kick but was countered by getting hit under the chin by Saito's sheath. Saito then drew out his blade and swung up in order to try and cut Shinji in two but the latter was able to dodge the attack.

'What kind of sword is this? Why doesn't it have a blade and yet it's able to strike me?.' Shinji thought as he looked at his opponent's sword.

"Scum…" Saito said and then repeatedly drew out his sword and swung it at Shinji multiple times in the blink of an eye but Shinji was able to block all of the attack.

'I have to put some distance between me and him and then think of a plan.' Shinji thought as he then jumped back a couple of spaces, thirty meters to be exact.

"You think that because you're that far, my sword can't reach you, huh? Don't be so naïve, gaki." Saito said and then once again drew out his sword and executed a lightning fast slash that reached Shinji and slashed him across the chest.

'He dodged at the last minute, that's why the wound is not too deep.' Saito noticed.

'His sword reached that far? If it wasn't for the fact that I could read through his sword swings and react on time, I would have been dead by now. One thing is for sure, this guy is a monster.' Shinji thought.

* * *

"So, where is the Mizukage?" Haku asked as she and the ANBU as they were entering the Mizukage Temple.

"She's right in that room." The ANBU said as he then opened the room to the left. The room was quite large, stretching about 60 meters. In the middle of the room was the Mizukage.

"Mizukage-sama, I'm glad you're okay." Haku said as she entered the room and walked toward the Mizukage.

"Haku-chan, I'm very sorry." The Mizukage said softly.

"Sorry for what?" Haku asked and then got her answer as finger bullets headed her way but fortunately, she was able to dodge.

"What is the meaning of this, Mizukage-sama? I was sent here to protect you!" Haku said.

"I'm very sorry but he told me to do this." The Mizukage said and then took off her hat, and then bones protruded out of her back and arms. Not only that but then the room turn very cold as ice took over the ground and the entire room.

"Wait a minute, this is just like my kekkai genkai." Haku gasped.

"Please Haku-chan, die for his sake. Koori Arashi (Ice Storm)!" The Mizukage said as a volley of ice spikes flew toward Haku who dodged out of the way.

"Gomen nasai Mizukage-sama, but for the sake of my dreams, I can't die just yet." Haku said.

* * *

"Is that the Mizukage?" The council leader asked as he and several were watching through a crystal ball that showed exactly what was happening in that room.

"Yes it is. She is the result of an experiment that I conducted years ago by mixing the bloodlines of our own village and then injecting it into a young girl which was her. This is the future of our village." Daigo said with a smile.

"I gotta hand it to you Daigo, you really know how to make one hell of a party, huh?" Zabuza said as he burst through the room.

"Y…You're Momoichi Zabuza!" The council leader said in fear.

"No shit Sherlock." Zabuza replied.

"I see you have defeated Raiga." Daigo said with a smirk.

"Oh yeah, I did. Here you go." Zabuza said and then dropped a bag that he was carrying with him and then the head of Kurosuki Raiga rolled out of the bag, causing many gasps from the council members and even one of them to faint, "He told me everything Daigo and I must say, I'm impressed. It seems you didn't turn out like the typical moronic subordinate and instead made something of yourself. You manipulated everything in order to achieve your selfish goals, truly impressive." Zabuza said.

"What is he talking about, Daigo?" The council leader asked.

"Well, I might as well tell you everything since it won't matter what you think or say once this is all over. You see, back when the Mist was known as the Bloody Mist, it was all known as the strongest of the five powers in terms of its military strength. It was said that the Mist was unconquerable and undefeated in the battlefield thanks to its military. But then, this pathetic group of council took over and changed everything in order to make the Mist seems more appealing to the other villagers, more "humane". Ha, all it did was make us weaker than dirt and turn us into an afterthought and I would not stand to be looked down as an afterthought but I knew I could not do anything by myself. No, I needed something else to help me move my plans forward and that is when it came to me. How about installing my own Mizukage into the government and also rising high up into the government chain? This is why I made sure that this girl, my own daughter, was elected as Mizukage by a landslide. Next, I infiltrated the Tengu Group, a rebel faction that was already planning on taking over but lacked firepower. I infiltrated the group and killed their leader and then became their leader. By doing so and still working as a PA for the Mizukage on the side, I was able to manipulate both sides easily and then little by little, lead this country to a war. Now you might ask yourself why was war such an important asset to my strategy and the answer is quite simple: With war, a country has no choice but to militarize and create new weapons and by doing so stimulating the economy upwards." Daigo explained.

"And by creating a civil war, you hope for the council to see the need for the Mist to go back to the ways things used to be and thus become a military power once again, right Daigo? Hence why you had those two boys try to assassinate the Mizukage and now have the Tengus attack the village." Zabuza asked.

"Exactly. " Daigo replied with a dark grin.

""Heishiro Daigo! How dare you jeopardize our country for your selfish needs! I will not…" The council leader said only to get his head chopped off by Daigo.

"Foolish imbecile, you're the ones who jeopardized our country with your selfishness. What I am doing is for the betterment of this country, and even you would agree, Zabuza?" Daigo asked.

"Actually I do agree but I'm still not siding with you and I will still kill you." Zabuza said, "All of you, get out of here now or else you will die." Zabuza said sternly to the council and they immediately headed for the exit and left the room.

"My my, are you still mad because of what happened all those years ago, Zabuza-aniki?" Daigo asked.

"Damn right I am. I trusted all of you and yet you backstabbed me, your own comrade." Zabuza glared as he pointed his bloodied sword at Daigo.

"Zabuza, you had it coming. No one except for Sanada Akira and his wife considered you fit to be leader of the Seven Swordsman and with the offer the Mizukage gave us, how could we refuse?" Daigo asked with a glee.

"It doesn't matter now, I'm going to kill you slowly and enjoy my revenge. So far, I've killed everyone except for you and that damn bastard Kisame, and I think it's about time to make him the only one left." Zabuza said.

"I will kill you right here and now and fulfill my ambition!" Daigo said as he took out his katana.

* * *

_**THE REVOLUTION OF THE MIST HAS FINALLY BEGUN! WHO WILL WIN?!**_

_**Next: The Face of an Angel and the Roar of a Devil**_

_AN: As always, read and review._


	37. Kirikagure Gaiden Part III

JayJay94: The Kage is not really a Kage but a puppet for Daigo's plans. He is basically using his daughter as a way to weave around the government. Also, Haku could have killed the Mizukage but then it would be too obvious that she was killed by Haku and she's also not a pushover. 

Chapter 33: The face of an Angel and the Roar of a Devil

* * *

"I must say that I am very surprised to find none other than Hoozhiki Suigetsu and Sogai Izoa, the Demonic Duo." Aijin said.

"It looks like we're popular, Suigetsu." Izoa said.

"Damn straight. I wonder what rank we are in the Bingo Book?" Suigetsu asked.

"According to the Bingo Book, you're A-ranked criminals." Aijin said.

"Only A-rank? Man that sucks, I thought they would have bumped us to S-class after that stunt we pulled in Toyai Village about two months." Suigetsu said.

"But anyway, who the hell are you two losers?" Izoa asked.

"We are the brotherly duo known as Gojin and Aijin, famous bounty hunters that strike fear into the hearts of many missing-nins." Gojin said as he introduced his brothers.

"Have we ever heard of them, Suigetsu?" Izoa asked.

"Nope, never did." Suigetsu replied.

"Nani? You never heard of us? You never heard of the bounty hunters that captured Saijin, the infamous thief from Kusakagure?" Gojin asked.

"Nope." Both swordsman replied.

"Fine, then maybe after we're through, you will fear us!" Aijin yelled.

"Let's just get this stupid fight over with. I do have a bone to pick with someone." Izoa said.

"Me too." Suigetsu said.

"That's fine by us! Gojin, you take on Suigetsu while I deal with Izoa." Aijin said.

"No problem, aniki." Gojin replied with a smirk, "But first, let's change location. I tend to go wild once I start to swing my blade." Gojin said.

"It doesn't matter where we fight as long as we do fight." Suigetsu said and then him and Gojin vanished.

* * *

Suigetsu and Gojin then reappeared in a large clearing not too far from the village.

"So that's where you wanna fight?" Suigetsu asked.

"Of course. Like I told my aniki, I tend to go crazy once I start swinging my blade. Hope you don't mind." Gojin chuckled.

"Like I said, I don't care as long as we get to kill each other." Suigetsu grinned.

* * *

"Sogai Izoa. According to this report, not only are you wanted for numerous assassinations and destruction, but you are also wanted for the massacre of your own village. Now for some reason, I don't buy the hype. You don't look that tough so show me Izoa, show me the demon that massacred his entire village at age 8." Aijin said as he read the report.

"Be careful what you wish for, you may not like me if I actually take you seriously." Izoa warned.

"Oh trust me, I know exactly what I'm wishing for." Aijin smirked.

"Genocide Cutter!" Izoa yelled out as he then rushed toward Aijin and then slashed him across the chest.

'Why didn't he block my attack?' Izoa thought.

"Excellent. Now I have all I need to crush you." Aijin said with a dark smile.

"Say what?" Izoa asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Kinjutsu: Kenkaku Kaisou (Forbidden Technique: Swordsman Reflection)!" Aijin yelled and then a black mist surrounded and suddenly, his body began to change as the mist fully engulfed him. When the mist disappeared, he looked exactly like Izoa.

"What in the hell?" Izoa said, startled.

"Oh, that's not even the best part." Aijin said as he then made a small cut on his left hand, his non-sword hand, and then dripped some blood on his sword, which then suddenly morphed itself into Izoa's sword.

"So that jutsu of yours allows you to imitate a swordsman's physical appearance and sword in order to perfectly copy them, right? That's useless, it doesn't matter if you copy a swordsman's body and sword you'll never be able to beat them that way." Izoa said.

"Genocide Cutter!" Aijin yelled as he performed the same diagonal slash attack but Izoa was able to block it.

"Demon Cutter!" Aijin yelled as he then performed an upward slash but Izoa was able to jump back to avoid it.

"That look on your face…you were surprised that I knew that move, weren't you?" Aijin asked.

"Ni-GIRI!" Izoa yelled out as he then performed his attack

"Not so fast! Nirouha (Two Wolf Waves)!" Aijin yelled and countered by performing another of Izoa's attacks.

Izoa saw it coming at the last minute and was forced to use his swords to deflect them which then left him wide open for…

"Ni-giri!" Aijin yelled and then performed Izoa's own attack and slahes him across the chest, knocking him back about ten meters.

"My kinjutsu doesn't only allow me to become the swordsman I am fighting against, it allows me to actually replicate their own fighting styles. You see, when I morph into my opponent, I also download their memories into my mind and thus anything you can do, I can do as well." Aijin explained. He then crossed his sword in the shape of an X and then squatted his legs.

'That stance…it can't be!' Izoa thought.

"Akuma Shinnyuusha (Devil Raider)!" Aijin yelled and then was engulfed in a reddish chakra that took the form of a skull and then flew toward Izoa at high-speed. However, Izoa was able to avoid the attack by jumping up 30 meters in the air.

"I had enough of this. Unseal!" Izoa said as he then put his smaller sword into the bigger sword and then tossed the sword into the air, performed a series of seals and then his sword split into six longswords that were floating in the air.

"Let's end this! Come forth, Crazy Diamond!" Izoa yelled and then a black single-bladed sword with a red hilt flew into his right hand.

"EX!" Izoa yelled out and then his blade was engulfed by a reddish-black chakra.

"I have to act now! Unseal!" Aijin said as he noticed the amount of chakra engulfing Izoa's sword and then did the same thing Izoa did.

"Oh no you don't! HIGH ROLLER!" Izoa yelled out as the then dived toward Aijin at high speed and swung his sword but then Aijin was able to block the powerful attack, with a large zweihander with a cross on the blade itself and a gray hilt that he was holding in his left hand. The attack was so powerful that the collision caused a 30-meter wide crater but for some reason, Izoa was unable to make Aijin budge any further.

"Now it's my turn. Come forth, Schneider!" Aijin yelled and then a silver broadsword with its chakra system in between both blades flew into his right hand. He then pointed the sword at Izoa whose eyes then widened.

"Genocide Flash!" Aijin yelled with a dark look on his face and then Izoa was engulfed by a blast of chakra and then flew back about 40 meters and landed on the ground with burn marks everywhere.

"I see. You were able to use your Crazy Diamond sword to cancel most of the blast by using the energy from your own attack. Quite impressive reflexes but it is obvious to me your reputation precedes you, Sogai Izoa. You don't even know how to use these swords properly. That sword, Crazy Diamond, has the highest attack power out of these swords and hence why you summoned it but you also forgot that Requiem here (the zweihander) has the highest defensive power out of all your swords and thus can block nearly any attack and thus forms the ultimate counterpart to your Crazy Diamond and with that knowledge, it was easy for me to deal with your Crazy Diamond. And then you have Schneider, the sword with the largest chakra system and thus can fire powerful chakra wave blasts from it and by using it in combination with Requiem, I was easily able to create the ultimate counter-attack. You see Izoa, every sword is weak against one particular sword and once a swordsman can figure this out, it can easily defeat any sword and that is exactly what I did. You use your swords and yet you don't even know to use them properly. What I shame." Aijin said.

"Are you done yet? You're annoying me." Izoa growled as he got back up and spit out a tooth.

"Oh yes I am and in fact, I was thinking of ending this little game of ours and have your head for the bounty." Aijin said with a smirk.

"You're not getting my head because you're not going to kill me, understand? In fact, I'm going to only use Crazy Diamond from now on." Izoa said.

"You're foolishly cocky, boy!" Aijin chuckled and then fired another wave from Schneider.

"STREAK!" Izoa yelled as he then spun his sword and then chopped the wave in two.

Izoa then rushed toward Aijin who grinned and prepared for incoming attack with Requiem. Izoa performed a high horizontal right slash that Aijin was able to block but then Izoa grinned and then switched hands and performed a mid horizontal slash to the stomach but Aijin was able to dodge it on time. 

Izoa was not done as he slashed downward with both hands and Aijin was able to block it but then Izoa ducked toward Aijin and performed a mid thrust but Aijin was able to move to his right to evade it and then pointed Schneider right at Izoa's face with a mad grin on his face.

"SO LONG, SUCKER! GENOCIDE FLASH!" Aijin yelled out as he unleashed his attack point-blank but then to his shock, Izoa was able to sway back before the blast struck him and then retaliated with two diagonal slashes to Aijin's chest, making an X on his chest identical to Izoa's.

"What's wrong? You were talking all that good shit before and now you're speechless. I thought I didn't know how to use my swords properly? Guess you were wrong." Izoa said, taunting the bounty hunter.

"SHUT THE HELL UP! THAT WAS JUST A FLUKE! Besides in case you've forgotten, anything you can do, I can do as well!" Aijin yelled.

"Seriously, enough talk. Put up or just die." Izoa said.

"With pleasure." Aijin said, 'I was right; each sword has their own fighting style that he has created for them, including Schneider and Requiem. However, Requiem is a pure defensive sword while Schneider is a projectile-based sword and thus my best chance of winning would be with Requiem…Yes, I see now. Because he knows Requiem is a defensive sword and thus would have a defensive style rather than offensive style, he is expecting me to rely on Schneider or even switching to another sword. Basically, he is not counting on me using Requiem on offense or defense!' Aijin thought.

He then rushed toward Izoa with only Requiem and then executed a horizontal high slash but Izoa was able to slip to his right and then performed a mid thrust but then Aijin spins around with Requiem in his right hand to avoid the attack and then swung his sword down. Izoa swayed back to avoid the blow and ducked toward Aijin and then slipped to his left and swung his sword high horizontally in order to decapitate Aijin but then Aijin ducked and put his sword in front of him and swung it upward and cut right through Izoa, splitting him in two.

"Got him…Huh?" Aijin began to say but then his eyes widened as Izoa then turned into a log.

"No, I got you! Breaking Benjamin!" Izoa yelled out and then slashed Aijin multiple times before knocking him upward with a Demon Cutter. Aijin flew high up in the air before falling down to the ground, all bloodied up and barely alive.

"You're one tough son of a bitch. Not many people would still be alive after that attack." Izoa said.

"You…you knew what I was planning the whole time, didn't you? In fact….that's what you wanted me to do. You knew that despite Requiem being a great defensive sword and that it could block any of your attack, it was too slow compared to your Crazy Diamond and its fighting style. By not switching to another sword, you let me become too overconfident in my Requiem and thus not realize its ultimate weakness, even despite using its fighting style and thus you were able to just simply overpower because you knew its weakness." Aijin said.

"There's one thing I really hate and that's when dead men can't shut the hell up." Izoa said and then plunged Crazy Diamond through Aijin's face, obviously killing him. 

"Re-seal!" Izoa said and then all of his swords were sealed back into his original nameless sword. He then took out a cigarette and lighted up and started to smoke it.

"Hopefully the dobe can win his fight." Izoa said.

* * *

"Nani?!" Gojin exclaimed as he and Suigetsu were fighting. So far, both fighters had wounds on their bodies and the clearing was nearly destroyed.

"What the heck is the matter with you? You look like you saw a ghost or something?" Suigetsu asked.

"This can't be! Aniki…aniki was killed!" Gojin said in disbelief.

"Che. Looks like Izoa took carte of that aniki of yours so this means you're the only left. But don't worry, I'll make you sure you get reunited with your brother real soon." Suigetsu said with a dark grin.

"You bastards! How dare you take away my big brother! Uwahhhhh!" Gojin growled and then started to cry.

'Is this guy serious?' Suigetsu thought with a sweat drop behind his head.

"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU AND THAT BASTARD WHO KILLED MY ANIKI! KINJUTSU: BISHAMON (Forbidden Technique: Bishamon)!" Gojin yelled out and then his chakra then shot out from his body into the sky and turned purple/black and then took the form of a very tall and muscular ghost samurai wearing a black samurai armor with the face of an ogre in the middle, a red mask, and held a large silver katana in its right hand.

"I'm not done yet! Unite!" Gojin yelled and then the ghost samurai grabbed Gojin with its left hand and then swallowed the man, "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! I have now fused with this armor and it has all of my attributes and techniques! It is invincible!" Gojin laughed.

"Is that so? But like they say, 'less talk, more action' so let's skip straight to the fun!" Suigetsu grinned.

"With pleasure!" Gojin said and then swung his sword down but Suigetsu was able to dodge it and the sword ended up cutting through the building.

"Daisuitai (Great Water Body)!" Suigetsu said as he then drank water from his bottle and suddenly his arms and legs became more muscular. He then jumped up and swung his sword at the huge armor but Gojin was able to move the armor's left hand move and block the attack, even though it did make him budge a bit

'This boy's strength is impressive.' Gojin thought and then deflected Suigetsu back about 60 meters, making him crash hard to the ground.

"W…what the hell is that?" Some of the rebels and ANBU that were fighting noticed as they saw the huge armor move as it was walking toward the crater that Suigetsu caused upon landing.

"I don't know but whoever is fighting it is a dead man." A person said.

"SHI-NE (DIE)!" Gojin yelled as he put his right foot down on Suigetsu intending on crushing but then Suigetsu stop the foot with both hands.

"WHAT IN THE HELL?" Gojin yelled as he was just shocked at the strength displayed by Suigetsu.

Suigetsu, with a roar, lifted Gojin and tossed him about 40 meters back. 

"I grew up with no parents and my brother tried to kill me. The only thing I ever had was my strength and that is thanks to it that I am still alive so don't think for a second that I'm like one of those weak-ass bitches you've fought before." Suigetsu said as he got back up.

"Fine, you want to see strength? I'll show you how strong I really am!" Gojin growled and then vanished.

"Where did he?" Suigetsu said but then located Gojin above as the said man swung his sword down. Suigetsu blocked it and the collision caused a powerful shockwave.

Gojin then reappeared about ten meters to the right of Suigetsu and got into a battojutsu stance.

"ONINAGI (Demon Slayer)!" Gojin yelled out as he then rushed toward Suigetsu at high-speed and swung his sword.

"DAISUITAI: KUSANAGI (Great Water Body: Dragon Slayer)!" Suigetsu yelled as he swung with great might. 

Both swords collided and created another powerful shockwave. Then both combatants began to swing their blades at each other and each collision created powerful shockwaves, leveling the forest and the ground. Gojin came down with a downward slash but Suigetsu rolled to his right to avoid it and then dashed toward Gojin's left leg and slashed it, causing the armored giant to yell in agony. Suigetsu then ran all the way to the top of the armor while slashing the armor with his sword, leaving a huge scar, and then delivered a roundhouse kick to the head, knocking the armored samurai back about 20 meters.

"KUSO! Katon: Dai Tora Endan No Jutsu (Great Tiger Blast Technique)!" Gojin yelled and fired a large tiger-headed blast from the mouth of the ogre.

"I can't dodge it!" Suigetsu said as he was still in mid-air, and thus the blast struck him and knocked him back to the ground.

When the smoke cleared, Suigetsu was on the ground, nearly burned to a crisp but still alive.

"Still alive, huh? Then let's see if you're still alive after this!" Gojin said and then swung his sword with all of his might but then Suigetsu rose up and broke the sword into pieces.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! So what? I still my armor and as long as I have it, I can easily crush you!" Gojin laughed and then jumped 60 meters into the air, "I'll kill you with this technique! Reaper Meteor!" Gojin yelled and then dived down toward Suigetsu.

'In my life…the only thing that ever mattered to me was being the strongest because fighting was the only way I could prove my pitiful existence…' Suigetsu thought

* * *

_Flashback:_

"_Kuso! Let's do it again!" Suigetsu yelled as he bloodied up and on one knee during a rainy day._

"_Why? I've already proved that I'm stronger than you. There's no need for this." Izoa sighed._

"_I don't give a rat's ass! I still want to fight you!" Suigetsu growled._

"_Why? What drives you to fight me so badly?" Izoa asked, slightly intrigued._

"_It's because you're stronger than me and it fucking pisses me off!" Suigetsu replied, "I can't stand being weaker than someone, it eats away at my soul and makes me feel just how pathetic my existence truly is and I can't stand it! I refuse to be weaker than anyone! Anyone who fights me will be crushed by my blade including you! I REFUSE TO BE WEAKER THAN SOMEONE! I RATHER DIE THAN BEING WEAKER THAN SOMEONE! It's the worst pain imaginable" Suigetsu said._

"_I must say, that's a stupid way to look at life but…it's the first time I've faced someone who hates his weakness. Alright, let's fight, again and again until you become stronger than me." Izoa said with a grin._

_Suigetsu smiled and then grinned sadistically before rushing toward Izoa._

_End Flashback_

* * *

'That's right! I still have to defeat him! I still have to become stronger than him!' Suigetsu thought. 

"IT'S OVER SUIGETSU!" Gojin said as he was getting closer and closer to Suigetsu.

"Kyoukudo Daisuitai (Extreme Great Water Body)!" Suigetsu said and then veins started to appear on his body. 

"Ran Kai (Storm Cut)!" Suigetsu yelled out and he then reared his sword back as far and then swung it at full force and unleashes an enormous slicing wave made of wind pressure that headed straight for Gojin.

Before the bounty hunter could even move, he was cut through the midsection and then fell to the ground in two.

"Like I said, I'm stronger than you." Suigetsu said and then fell to the ground, tired.

"Looks like you got messed up pretty badly, dobe." Izoa said smirking as he arrived at the scene.

"Shut the fuck up, teme." Suigetsu replied. He then stood back up and pointed his sword at Izoa.

"You've gotta be kidding me. Dude, there's no way you can fight me right now." Izoa said.

"I don't care…let's just…do this. I gotta be stronger than you, remember?" Suigetsu said with a grin.

"Alright, have it your way." Izoa sighed as he then took out his sword and got ready. But then, Suigetsu fell backward and landed on the ground, sleeping.

"Baka, told you couldn't fight me right now." Izoa said.

* * *

_Flashback:_

"_Damn it! I want a do-over, that last one didn't count!" Suigetsu yelled as Izoa had defeated him once again._

_"Dude, you've said that for the last ten times we've fought." Izoa said._

"_I don't care! I want a do-over NOW!" Suigetsu yelled._

"_By the way dobe…" Izoa began to say only to be cut off by Suigetsu._

"_I'M NOT A DOBE!" Suigetsu roared._

"_Yes you are. Anyway, would you like to be my partner?" Izoa asked._

"_I knew it! You're a homo!" Suigetsu exclaimed._

"_Why are you so fucking stupid?" Izoa asked before sighing, "Look, I am talking about in terms of fighting, dobe. I want to become a mercenary and I want to have someone powerful by my side and you're the only strong guy I have met so far." Izoa said._

"_Wait, you want to be a mercenary?" Suigetsu asked_

"_Yes. I don't want to belong to a village and at the same time, I want to get high-paying missions and the only way to do that is to become mercenaries. Also, if you're my partner, you'll get to fight me as many times you want." Izoa said._

"_Alright, you got yourself a deal, teme." Suigetsu said and then both shook hands._

_End Flashback_

* * *

"Damn it! That sword of yours is very annoying!" Shinji said as he dodged another invisible slashing attack from Saito.

"I'm sorry but I like my sword the way it is." Saito replied with a grin.

"Well whatever, you won't like your sword much longer once I'm through with it!" Shinji declared.

"And where did this confidence come from, huh?" Saito asked.

"From the fact that I just figured out how to beat your sword, that's where." Shinji smirked.

"You shouldn't talk such non-sense, kid. It makes you look much weaker than you're actually are." Saito said, glaring.

"I'm not talking non-sense. I will beat that sword and make you tell me everything about what happened to my parents that day!!" Shinji yelled.

"I will tell you regardless but I'll make sure that it's the last thing you'll ever hear." Saito replied with a smirk.

The stage is set and now a violent fight is about to begin! Next, "Blades of the Past" 

* * *

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, especially the detailing of how Suigetsu and Izoa met and became partners and yes, next chapter will delve deeply into Shinji's past including the tragic death of his parents. Just a couple of author's notes, here:

1. The fighting style that Izoa used to fight against Aijin is called Sword-Boxing and its basically boxing but with a sword instead and hence why you saw him use slips, sways, and ducks. This style is an original and thus if you want to use, you need to ask me.

2. Crazy Diamond is the name of a stand in the manga Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, which is a MUST-READ. If you are interested, check out or jojo.

3. Yes, I am a Breaking Benjamin fan hence why entitled Izoa's attack after them.


	38. Kirikagure Gaiden Part IV

Author's Note: As always, Naruto does not belong to me but to Kishimoto Masashi and Izoa belongs to IzoaSogai. However, Shinji and any original techniques belongs to me.

"Damn it! That sword of yours is very annoying!" Shinji said as he dodged another invisible slashing attack from Saito.

"I'm sorry but I like my sword the way it is." Saito replied with a grin.

"Well whatever, you won't like your sword much longer once I'm through with it!" Shinji declared.

"And where did this confidence come from, huh?" Saito asked.

"From the fact that I just figured out how to beat your sword, that's where." Shinji smirked.

"You shouldn't talk such non-sense, kid. It makes you look much weaker than you're actually are." Saito said, glaring.

"I'm not talking non-sense. I will beat that sword and make you tell me everything about what happened to my parents that day!!" Shinji yelled.

"I will tell you regardless but I'll make sure that it's the last thing you'll ever hear." Saito replied with a smirk.

* * *

Namikaze Hokage

Chapter 35: Kirikagure Gaiden Part IV: End of a Nightmare

* * *

Before we return to the battlefield, Shinji wants to take us to a journey back in time in order for us to understand what led to all of this and what led to the nightmare…

* * *

Shinji: My parents were humble and caring people and parents and had raised me in the comfort of a small home in Kiri. My father was a swordsmith and a jounin while my mother was solely a jounin. But what most people didn't know was that my father and mother were also members of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist, a group of legendary swordsman of great power. It was my dream to follow in their footsteps and make them proud…

_8 years ago…_

_In the small home of the Sanadas, a young Shinji, who wore a black shirt with orange kung-fu pants and no sandals, was running down the stairs of his home like a child that was about to receive a Christmas gift as he was grinning happily and was full of energy._

"_Father! Mother!" Shinji exclaimed with a huge grin as he made a right and entered the kitchen, where his parents were eating breakfast, which was egg drop soup. The woman had dark blue hair, red eyes, and wore a pink top with a black hakama with sakuras on it while the man had brown hair, back eyes and wore a black top with a blue hakama and sandals._

"_How's my little Shinji?" Shinji's mother, Asuka, asked with a radiant smile as she greeted her son._

"_I'm fine mommy," Shinji said to his mother with a smile, and then turned to his father, "Hey dad, how's it going?" Shinji asked his dad, Gendo._

"_I'm doing just fine kiddo but I think I should be asking you that question. You seem happier than ever." Gendo replied to his son._

"_That's because I have a big surprise for you guys!" Shinji revealed to his parents._

"_Ooh, I love surprises!" Asuka exclaimed happily._

"_So show us Shinji." Gendo said, amused._

"_Okay, here it goes!" Shinji said as he then took a twig of wood from his left pants pocket, held it in his hands and began to concentrate, "Toukai (Sword Release)!" Shinji yelled out as the twig then turned into a katana with a red hilt._

"_So, what do you guys think?" Shinji asked with a hopeful look on his face as he hoped his parents would like his surprise._

"_That was incredible, Shinji! I'm so proud of you!" Asuka yelled happily and then hugged her son._

"_So Shinji, have you named it yet?" Gendo asked, smirking._

"_Named it? What do you mean by that, father?" Shinji asked with a confused look in his face._

"_Whenever a member of the Sanada clan does his first Toukai, they must name that sword." Gendo said as he explained the tradition of their clan to his son. _

"_Oh, okay. Hmm…" Shinji said as then tried to rack his brain in order to come up with a name when a name suddenly popped in his head, "I know! I'll name it Nagi (Cutter)!" Shinji said._

"_Why name it Nagi for, son?" Gendo asked with a confused look on his face._

"_Because I want to be able to cut down all my enemies!" Shinji exclaimed and even swung his sword down with a grin but then that grin was wiped off his face as he his parents' disappointed looks on their face, "What's wrong?" Shinji asked._

"_Shinji listen. A sword is not used to cut down enemies only. It's primary use is to protect what's most precious to you whether it is your village or your friends and also remember that your sword is a part of you and represents you, okay son?" Gendo told his son._

"_Okay! From now on, I'll use my sword to protect my precious people." Shinji said with a grin._

"_That's our boy." Asuka said as Gendo ruffled Shinji's hair as the family was rejoicing this moment together._

* * *

Shinji: During these times, I was truly happy. I trained day after day, learning several kenjutsus and even learn how to advance my Toukai and create new swords. I did all of this so I could become a great swordsman like my parents were. But then…everything came crashing down.

_It was night time in the village and Shinji was sleeping peacefully in his bed when his stomach suddenly growled loudly, thus waking him up._

"_Guess I must haven't eaten enough." Shinji said as he then got out of bed, "I hope mother and father don't get too mad about this." Shinji grinned as he got out of his room._

_He immediately went down the stairs and was about to enter the kitchen when he suddenly saw his parents near the front door and dressed in black cloaks with their blades strapped behind their backs. The parents were startled by their young son awake._

"_S…Shinji! What are you doing up so late?" Asuka asked as she and Gendo were startled by their son._

"_I…I was just going to eat something since I was so hungry." Shinji answered, "But why are father and mother dressed like this? Are you two going on a mission?" Shinji asked in a wondering tone._

"_Yes we are, son." Gendo replied sternly._

"_When will you guys be back?" Shinji asked. However, his face saddened slightly as he saw the look of uncertainty on his parents' faces, "Is something wrong?" Shinji asked._

_Shinji then suddenly gasped as his mother hugged him._

"_Listen Shinji, I want you to know that whatever happens to us that your father and I love you very much, okay?" Asuka said to her son as tears started to fall from her eyes._

"_Mother…why are you!" Before Shinji could finish his sentence, he was knocked out by his mother with a quick hit to the neck._

_His parents then brought him up to his bed and laid him down gently on his bed and covered him with the covers. They then looked at each other, nodded and vanished and reappeared on the rooftop of a temple nearby where there was a man with a large zanbantou waiting for them._

"_It's time, Daigo and the others are waiting. By the way, are you sure you want to go through with this? You have a son to take care of after all." The man said to the duo._

"_We know but for the sake of the future of this village, we must do this Zabuza-aniki and besides, we wouldn't dream of letting you down and Shinji would understand. He's strong." Gendo replied._

"_Okay then, let's go." Zabuza said and the trio then vanished._

_Morning came by and the sun's rays lightened Shinji's room through the windows and awakened the young child._

"_Hmm…was that all a dream?" Shinji asked while yawning as he got off his bed. He then put on his sandals and walked out of his room. He headed for his parents' room and opened the door but then saw no trace of them and he gasped in shock._

"_Mother!? Father!? Where are you?" Shinji asked as he was getting worried about them, 'Even if they did really have a mission, they never left for one like that before and I could tell that dad was lying so where are they?' Shinji thought as he recalled last night's events._

_He stepped outside of his home and was about to start going around asking for information when he suddenly noticed a huge crowd gathered in the middle of the village._

"_What's going on over there? Could my parents be there?" Shinji asked and then decided to go check it out._

_Shinji arrived and then gasped as he saw that everyone was standing in front of a stage and next to the stage were three large pikes with covers covering what was on the pikes. On the stage was the Mizukage himself and his men._

"_Fellow citizens of Kirikagure, last night was a near disaster for our village. The group of swordsman that we all know as the Seven Swords of the Mist staged a rebellion and tried to assassinate me." The Mizukage said to the people._

_The announcement caused a great shock to the people, especially Shinji, as the seven swordsman of the mist were known to the village as heroes of their nation for generations._

'_That…that just can't be…mother and father must have had a good reason for all of this. They must have had!' Shinji thought as he was still in shock from the announcement._

_  
"Fortunately, we were able to stop them and kill three of them and today, we shall show you their heads." The Mizukage said and suddenly, Shinji felt his heartbeat go ten times faster as an uneasy feeling traveled throughout this entire body._

_They then took the coverings off and on two of the pikes were the heads of Asuka and Gendo Sanada. Upon seeing that, Shinji let out a blood-curling scream that echoed into the heavens…_

Shinji: No matter how much I have tried…I have never forgotten what I saw that day because no matter what I do, it is etched into my mind, like an unending nightmare…

* * *

Present time

"I will make you tell me everything!" Shinji said as he had finished reminiscing about the past. He gripped the hilt of his katana tightly and glared at his parents' killer.

"Are you going to just continue glaring at me or are you going to actually attack me?" Saito asked in a bored tone as he stared at the boy, "I thought you were going to force me to tell you everything." Saito added on, goading the boy.

'His sword…from what I've gathered, it is a blade that is essentially pure chakra and because he has such excellent chakra control, he can control its shape and range with ease and even cloak it to make it look invisible. However, I have noticed that he handles his sword differently from time to time…! That's it! Now I know how to beat him!' Shinji thought as an idea clicked in his mind.

"Let me show you my kenjutsu…it's called Hiramekitouryuu (Flash Sword Style)!" Shinji said and then reappeared above Saito in the blink of an eye and swung his blade but the latter was able to block it effortlessly. But then Shinji instantly reappeared to the right of Saito and swung his blade. Once again, Saito blocked the attack and then once again, Shinji disappeared and reappeared to Saito's left. This continued over and over again to the point where Shinji was attacking from so many points that it seemed that he was everywhere at once.

"So that style of yours uses extreme speed to overwhelm the opponent's defense, correct?" Saito asked calmly even while being pressed by Shinji's relentless offense.

"Yeah and I also figured out your sword. You see, every sword has an optimal or specific way of being handled and also an attack pattern. Once you know that, then it's easy to figure out what is the shape of your blade and plus my dad was a swordsmith so this is easy stuff for me. Plus, you are a battoujutsu user and thus your attacks will always come when you sheath and draw your sword." Shinji explained as he continued his onslaught.

"However, it's a useless piece of information if you're so predictable." Saitou said with a yawn and then turned to his left and stabbed Shinji in the heart, "See what I mean?" Saitou asked with a smirk.

"Actually, I don't." Shinji said with a smile as he was behind Saito with his sword on the latter's neck and then glared at him, "Start talking now!" Shinji growled angrily.

"Hmm. Might as well so let's see now…" Saito answered with a shrug and began to reminisce.

* * *

_Flashback_

_In the middle of the forest, Asuka and Gendo were running as fast as they could as they were trying to escape the ANBU. Their mission to assassinate the Mizukage had failed as Daigo, Kisame and Raiga had betrayed the group and had warned the Mizukage of the betrayal._

"_I can't believe Kisame, Daigo, and Raiga betrayed us and what is worse, all three of them decided to fight against Zabuza." Asuka._

"_He'll be fine. Zabuza is strong, stronger than those traitors and will escape. However, who I'm really worried about is Shinji. We have to hurry and get him before they do and leave the village." Gendo told his wife as they were running._

_Suddenly, they stopped in their tracks as an ANBU appeared in front of them. He had a battojutsu sword strapped to his right side and wore a wolf ANBU mask._

"_Thought you could get away huh, Gendo-sensei?" The ANBU said to the couple and took off his mask to reveal his face._

"_Saito!" Gendo gasped as he recognized his student._

"_I'm highly disappointed in you sensei. You taught me that a sword is used to protect and also to keep the order and justice of this world and yet you are trying to spread chaos into our land." Saito said, glaring as he felt betrayed._

"_Saito, wait! You don't understand the situation!" Gendo replied, as he was trying to talk to his old student but it was no avail._

"_Silence, traitor! Whatever your reasons were for this, they still disrupted the order and justice of the Mist and for that, I can never forgive you!" Saito said and then unsheathe his sword._

_Gendo and Asuka were startled as the sword had no blade._

'_A sword without a blade?' The couple both thought._

"_This is the first time you have seen my blade, correct? I t is a very unique blade, allow me to demonstrate its capabilities." Saito said with a dark grin as he re-sheathed his sword and drew out at an amazing speed and in a mere instant, Asuka had a large stab wound right through her left breast. The wound caused her to yell in pain and spit out huge amount of blood as her husband was shocked by what just happened._

'_H…How did he stab Asuka-chan from that distance? We're standing about ten meters from him, no way he could have struck us with his type of sword.' Gendo thought but then gasped as Saito was about to unleash another attack._

_Gendo gritted his teeth and then quickly grabbed his near dead wife and then used shunshin to disappear._

"_Orokana (foolish)…" Saito muttered._

_Gendo was jumping from trees to trees while holding Asuka in his arm. _

"_Asuka-chan, hang in there." Gendo said as he shook his wife's body but she did not respond, "Asuka-chan!" Gendo yelled and then started to go faster._

'_Just hang in there. We'll…" Gendo thought but then his thoughts were interrupted as he was stabbed in his right leg and fell to the ground. He turned around to look for his assailant but no one was there._

'_It….it can't be. His sword reached me from even that distance?' Gendo thought as he had a look of fear in his face._

"_Judging by your current emotional state, you've noticed something about my sword's range, right?" Saito asked as he was behind the wound Gendo and then smirked, "Range means nothing to my sword. No matter where my opponent is, my blade will strike them." Saito explained._

_Gendo tried to stand up but then yelled in pain as he fell to his knees._

"_Now die, you pathetic dog shit." Saito said and then swung his blade down._

* * *

_End Flashback_

"And to be honest, I felt no remorse that day and I still feel no remorse. The only thing I feel is pity, pity at how weak you father and mother had become." Saito said to Shinji without any emotion at all even as the boy was glaring at him with unbridled anger, "But don't worry, you'll be reunited with them soon enough, I promise." Saito said and then in an instant, Shinji felt a stab on his right leg, which caused him to yell in pain and fall to the ground.

"You were so caught up in your emotions that you completely forgot about my sword's abilities." Saito said while looking down at the boy with a hint of arrogance. He then looked at the boy's right arm, which held his katana and quickly stabbed the boy's arm in order to render it useless. He then lifted his sword up and prepared to deliver the final blow.

"Now die like a dog, just like your father did." Saito said but before he could deliver the killing blow, he felt a pain in his stomach and looked down and saw that Shinji had stabbed him with a wakizashi in his left hand.

"How?" Saito gasped in disbelief as blood began to fall from his mouth.

"You were so caught up with in your bullshit that you completely forgot about my ability to create a sword out of anything I touch, like a small rock that I picked up as soon as I fell to the ground. I had a feeling you would try to prevent me from using my sword so I thought of getting myself another sword. You would have been better off getting rid of both my arms." Shinji smirked.

"Impressive." Saito said smirking as he coughed out more blood.

"Shut up. Because of you I had to suffer, to be stuck in a nightmare for so long. But now…IT WILL END!" Shinji roared, glaring at Saito as he used all of his might to stand back up and then in one motion of his wakizashi, disemboweled Saito. Saito's disemboweled body then fell to the ground and then suddenly, it began to rain and then Shinji also fell to the ground as he could not stand due to his injured leg. He looked up at the sky and then smiled.

'Mother…father. The nightmare is finally over…' Shinji thought as he then put his left hand on his face and for the first time in a long while, cried as the sadness in his heart was finally lifted off.

* * *

To be continued…

Author's Note: So Shinji has finally avenged his parents' deaths. I know this chapter may be one of my shortest but the reason why is because I truly wanted to focus primarily on Shinji and make this a Shinji-centric chapter and I believed I have achieved that purpose and I hope you guys don't mind and enjoyed.

Next up is the conclusion of the Kirikagure Gaiden and conclusion of Part 1 and also, there will be a small preview of Part 2 which I entitled "Revolution" and basically, Akatsuki will be a lot different than in the original in terms of organization and overall plan. Let's just say it won't be about the tailed-beasts.


	39. The end

Hey guys

Hey guys. I have bad news, I'm going to delete this story and start fresh. I know this might hurt some of you but I felt it was the best decision since I never truly planned out this story and also, it just felt like me taking the Naruto story and just changing some parts but never making it truly original and that was not my intention but it felt like that so I decided to start fresh and truly try to make it more like story than just a cop-out of the original. There will be drastic changes so be warned.

For coupling fans, those are the couples I have planned for this story:

NarutoxHinata

GaaraxSakura

SasukexFemHaku

ShikaxTemari

InoxChouji

KakashixRin

Again, I apologize for this but I want you guys to give this new and final version a chance since it will be much better than the original since I actually planned ahead and also, I won't be stuck in the black hole known as college and thus I will be able to write as much as I want.

The new story will be called Namikaze Hokage Redux and will be started in a couple of days.

Ja ne


End file.
